Going Through Changes
by animegirl67
Summary: Kira was an just ordinary girl, going to school, hanging with friends, until a strange group happens upon her and changes her life forever. [Features Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho characters, as well as some from many other shows.] In progress
1. Found

* * *

The sound of the bell rang loudly throughout the classroom and everyone leapt from their seats. I was in honors world history and the bell to leave had just sounded. Gathering my things quickly into my book bag, I caught up with the rest of the class to follow them out the door. Squeezing through the crowd we managed our way to the stairs and went our separate ways. My destination lay on the third floor. 

As I set a foot on the bottom step, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me back. It was a boy I didn't know with brown hair and reddish orange eyes which seemed to glare hatefully at me even through his smile. "Hello." He said pleasantly. "Are you Kira?"

Slowly I nodded. "Why?" I asked.

"I would like to talk to you."

For some reason I shivered under his touch. "Well I have to get to class…"

"I'll walk you there." He said as he followed me up the stairs. We made it to the top floor of the school and he still hadn't said anything more.

"Are you just going to follow me or will you say something?" I asked, feeing very uncomfortable. He didn't speak so I turned to head into my classroom. At the last minute he caught my arm and pulled me further down the hall. "Hey, what are you doing?" I cried as I tried pulling away but he held me too tight. "Let go!"

"Shut up and come on." The boy hissed at me.

Frantically I looked around for someone to help but everyone was busy rushing to class and the hallways were empty. The tardy bell rang and I stared at the boy. "You've made me late, happy now? Let go!"

"I said shut up!" The boy snarled and I squealed as he jerked my arm to the side, twisting it. He dragged me into a corner of the room where the stairs were and threw me down. "Humans are so fragile…" He whispered.

My eyes grew wide. _He speaking like he's not human!_ I thought. As I stared harder at him I saw some strange markings on his face along with a horn or two on his head. "W-what are you?" I gasped.

"So you can see?" The boy smirked. "I knew you were her."

"What are you talking about?" I screamed as I tried to push past him.

"You're not going anywhere." He hissed as he held me against the wall. "Word is the spirit detectives are looking for a new helper and that helper is supposed to be you. I can get a lot of money for bringing you in."

I stared at him in shock trying to process what he'd said when loud footsteps sounded throughout the stairs. "He-" The boy clamped his hand over my mouth before I could yell for help and smirked at me. He placed his hand on the wall beside my head and leaned forward. To anyone passing by it'd just look like another couple making out by the stairs.

Sure enough the boy coming down barely glanced at us before moving on. As soon as the footsteps disappeared the boy pulled away. "There's no hope for you."

"What are you going to do?" I whimpered fearfully.

"Oh don't worry…" The boy grinned. "I won't cause you pain. All I want is your death!" With the last word he slipped a long knife from his pocket and held it over me. My eyes filled with terror and all I saw was the knife and the boys face filled with a crazed look.

I screamed as he swung it down and jumped to the side, kicking the boy in the leg as I did so. He winced and clutched his leg as I scrambled down the hall, trying to make it to a classroom. I was jerked to a stop as he caught my jacket and pulled me back towards him. "Just for that I'll make it slow and painful." He snarled as he slid the blade slowly across my right arm. I flinched and squirmed but he held his other hand over my mouth, holding my head against the wall and keeping me from yelling.

Tears escaped my eyes from the pain and the boy was obviously enjoying it. Suddenly he cried out and fell to the side, skidding into the wall. I slid to the floor and blinked the tears away as I stared up. A new boy stood in front of me now. He had spiky dark black hair and was fairly short with red eyes but he was blurred by my tears. The brown haired boy wiped his cheek and staggered to his feet. "Where the hell did you come from?" He screamed.

The black haired boy smirked. "You need to keep up your guard better."

I gasped as the brown haired boy charged with his knife but at the last second the new boy drew a hidden sword and stabbed straight through the one charging. Kicking him off the sword, he wiped the blood off on the boy and put it up, turning towards me. The brown haired boy smiled painfully as he clutched at the others ankle. "Savor living while you can…" He murmured before darkness took him.

I stared in shock at the boy lying in a pool of blood in front of me and then back at the one who had done it. He was now muttering to himself. "I knew they'd be after her already… I'm glad I came." He kneeled down in front of me and smirked. "Are you scared?" He asked aloud.

I nodded. "W-what is he?" I stammered.

The boy raised an eyebrow. "You can see the markings?" I nodded and he stared at me for a moment. "He's a demon, sent here to kill you."

My eyes widened. "What? Why?" I cried. "Are you here to kill me too?" I added, pressing back against the wall.

"If I was you'd be dead by now." The boy replied. "You need to get that arm looked at."

At the mention of it, the pain in my arm suddenly shot through me again and I clutched it uselessly as the pool of dripping blood increased. "I don't understand…" I muttered dumbly as I sat there.

The boy took my hand and hauled me to my feet, handing me my book bag. "Go back to your class. I'll take care of him." He said, indicating the supposedly demon boy.

"But… what's going on?" I continued.

"I will come to your house one night and explain it then. Be ready for me. It will be dark and will happen in secret. Don't ever tell anyone that we met here, understand?" I nodded slowly and he pushed me forward to get me to hurry. With one last glance over my shoulder at him I staggered down the hall to my class.

Everyone stared at me in shock as I entered, clutching my arm with a bloody hand. The teacher freaked out and ran at me asking what happened. "Someone attacked me by the stairs." I muttered.

"Why didn't you yell?" The teacher asked.

"He wouldn't let me."

"So there's some guy on the loose?" A boy in my class yelled out.

I shook my head. "Someone else came and chased him away. They're both gone now…"

"Well Kira, you need to get to the office and call home quickly. That looks really bad. Was a weapon used?" The teacher asked.

"A knife." I whispered as I left quietly.

"Let me go with her!" I heard someone shout and turned to see Scott running out after me. After a pause the teacher nodded and allowed him to come and we went silently side by side for a while. Scott followed me back to the stairs and watched me as I froze and looked around. "What are you looking for?" He asked.

"The blood." I replied. "It's all gone except for mine…"

"Was there more?" Scott added.

Slowly I nodded before approaching the stairs hesitantly and heading down them, Scott right behind me. "So…" He began. "There's some freak on the loose with a knife?"

"I guess so." I muttered, wincing as I held my arm. "Why'd you come?"

"I hate that class, just want to get out." Scott explained. I simply nodded and continued down to the office.

When I entered I was immediately swarmed and asked tons of questions as Scott stood by listening. All I told them was that a boy had pulled me into the stairs while everyone was in class and that he had cut my arm before someone chased him away. Seeming to accept my answer, they called my mom for me and she arrived shortly. Saying goodbye to Scott, I went out to the car and climbed in where she then rushed me to the hospital. It took twenty three painful stitches before everything was done with and I could return home.

I skipped the next day of school and instead slept in and tested if I would be able to write. It seems I could but it was pretty painful. The day after I returned with a heavily bandaged arm and was swarmed with curious or concerned people. After a while things returned to normal.

Every day after the incident I checked back at those stairs and stayed alert for the boy who had saved me but never saw anything strange though I dreamed about plenty.

After a few more weeks I was brought back to the doctors to get the stitches taken out and the bandage was removed, showing a long, thin scar across my right arm. Though the scar remained, the cause slowly faded as months passed and summer break started. The days were then spent sleeping and lazing around on the computer, totally forgetting the boy's promise to return one night. I should have remembered…

_

* * *

Wow, I haven't seen that one yet... what song is it based on? _I was on the computer... again. I'm always on. At this moment I was replying to a post on a friend's site. I looked up and sighed, glancing at the door and then pausing to listen for voices upstairs. I was home with my youngest brother, the four-year-old, Jack and my sister, the eight year old, Megan. I was responsible for making sure they went to bed, but you know kids... they never listen to an older sibling. It sounded like they were quiet... for now. I looked back to the glowing computer screen in front of me and clicked the next screen name on my friends list. 

As I was reading their post I heard the front door squeak slowly open. It always does that so I stood up and closed and locked it. As I was returning to the computer I heard someone speak in a loud whisper, "Watch it!" I nearly jumped out of my skin! I quickly turned and looked around, killing the music I was playing to hear better. I saw nothing and put a hand on my heart, feeling its quickened beating, my eyes still wide. I peered into the darkness around me and finally deciding there was nothing there, I slowly sat back down, rubbing my eyes. _This is what I get for spending the last six nights up past 2..._ I thought. I looked at the computer's clock. _Only 10...I'll wait for people to get home and by then it will be late enough to go upstairs._ I decided, turning back to the computer to finish up.

About 40 minutes later my parents and other two brothers finally came through the door.

"Are they asleep?" was the first thing my mom said.

"Well, I sent them up at least..." I replied as I got up. I headed for the couch in the family room where all my newly gotten manga and pocky lay all over the cushions. I gathered them all up in my arms and turned to my dad who was settling down on the other couch. "I'm going up now..." I said.

"To sleep?"

"I don't know... just up." I responded. On my way I stopped by the computer room and unplugged the laptop. Picking it up, I carried it to my room as well. I had prepared characters for a new story earlier today and was planning on starting it somewhere were there would be no or little distractions. I settled down on my bed and began to type.

_Kira came out of the woods, her ears twitching agitatedly. "Why are you still following me?" she yelled over her shoulder. There was no response. "Come on! I know you're there, I can smell you!"_

_A small brown puppy with one black ear came stumbling out of the woods after her. He paused for a moment and began changing his shape. When he was done he resembled a boy with shaggy brown shoulder length hair and one brown dog-ear and the other black and the small tail of a puppy..._

I paused to look at the clock. _11:51... I've been working for a long time_, I thought. I looked around my room. All the lights were off and everything was illuminated by the glow of the computer screen. For some reason, I liked it better this way, just sitting there, headphones on, computer in my lap, in the dark. I didn't want this to end very soon and hoped I wouldn't get tired quickly so I could stay up. I blinked a few times and mouthed a few words to the song I was listening to, _I'm sorry I can't be perfect..._ I sighed and looked around again as I began to continue my story.

_...As he looked up at her, Kira noticed that one eye was green and the other blue. "So?" she asked. "Why have you been following me?"_

_He shrugged, "I don't want to be alone anymore..." he started to walk closer. "How come you're all alone?"_

_Kira looked down, hiding her face as her eyes swirled blue. "I got separated from my brothers..." she began but then recovered, her eyes turning green again. "But I don't need any help!"_

I stopped again, this time for a different reason. My CD had ended. I moved the computer off of my lap and stood up, reaching for my CD case. I opened the player and took out the Simple Plan disc and put in Good Charlotte. Replacing the headphones on my head, I slid down beside my bed and leaned against its side. I placed the laptop on my legs and continued to type, occasionally mouthing some words_. I just want to live!_

_The puppy boy looked offended and sat down where he stood. "I just want a friend..." he sighed. "I've never known any friends or family."_

_Kira looked at him and sighed as well. "I was separated from my family for over 500 years. I just was reunited with them and now I'm lost again." She looked around. "And nothing here looks or smells familiar!"_

_The boy leapt to his feet. "Let me come with you! I'll help you find them!" he said excitedly, his little tail wagging as he_

"Ahh-" My scream was stifled as a hand covered my mouth. I looked around wildly but my attacker was behind me, on my bed. Another hand came forth to cover my eyes. _Oh my God, what's happening?_ I thought frantically. My first guess as to who it could be was the man seen around our neighborhood with the gun but that didn't make since. Besides, he hadn't been seen for over a week! I reached up and started clawing at his hands with my long nails but another set of hands grabbed them away and held them to my side. _There are two people?_ I thought, trying to struggle free. _One's to my left... _I felt one hand let go of my hands and doubled my efforts at getting free. It was no use, when he shifted he had renewed his one handed grasp on me. Next I felt the headphones lifted gently from my head. _At least I can hear now..._ I thought. _And if they wanted to hurt me they wouldn't have been so careful and they would've done it by now...wouldn't they?_

"What are these?" I heard a man ask.

"Put them on your head, the padded parts over the ears." The other responded in a cold voice. He sounded annoyed. _He doesn't know what headphones are?_ I thought, growing more confused every second.

I looked at the computer, still in my lap. _The clock read 12:21. My dad will still be up!_

I felt someone lean close to my ear and shivered. "Kira, isn't it?" I heard him ask. It was the one with the cold voice. I slightly nodded. "Ok," he said pulling away but keeping my mouth and eyes covered. "She can understand me. That means the translators are working still."

I was growing steadily more scared. _Are they going to do something? Why don't they just do it? I hate sitting here waiting, unable to do anything!_ I tried shaking my head at least, hoping to free my mouth or eyes but the grip just tightened, hurting my face. I felt my eyes begin to water.

"Loosen your grip!" the other said. His voice was much calmer, more reassuring and nice sounding yet he still tightly held my hands down. "You're hurting her."

I heard the other grunt and his grip lessened. The other leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Now, we're here to help you, ok? What's that thing on you're lap? If you tell me I'll get my friend here to uncover your mouth and eyes." He promised.

My heart leapt, until I heard the other. "What are you talking about? I'm not going to do that! And I'm not your friend..."

"Hey, we were sent here to get her to trust us so she'll remember we helped her when we come for her later."

"Why couldn't you get her brother to do it? I don't believe him that he his. He's just trying to take her powers for himself."

"No he's not! You haven't been with him since we got here. He's been sulking around camp. He doesn't respond to insults or anything!"

"Well, that just shows how weak he is."

"Give me a break! He's been separated from her for over five hundred years!" My eyes widened, _just like Kira from my story..._ I thought but was totally confused about everything else. _Are they talking about me? My brothers? I don't understand!_ I took this time to try to wriggle free but even through their argument, they held me tight.

"Here, use this to make sure she doesn't yell out." From my left I heard the scraping of metal against something and felt the wind on my neck as it was passed to the one behind me and set on the bed.

He said in his cold, emotionless voice, "So, you're making me the bad guy?"

"Aww, come on!" he said, laughing. "You can tell by comparing our voices that you're the meaner one!" he turned to me again. "Now, as I was saying. We'll uncover you're mouth and eyes, and I'll release your hands but you have to stay quiet. My friend has a dagger and won't hesitate to quiet you. You can speak in a whisper and tell me what that glowing thing in your lap is."

I nodded and felt the hands release my face but the touch of cold metal appear on the front of my neck. I shivered but stayed quiet. My hands too were released. I started to turn my head to look at the one beside me but his hand shot out and stopped me. "No! You shall look only straight ahead. You're not allowed to see us yet."

He let go and I whispered, as quietly as I could, remembering the dagger pressed against my neck. "W-why not?"

"We'll explain it all later, the next time we meet."

The one on the bed stayed silent with the knife. It made me nervous. "N-next time?"

"Yeah," was the happy response. "We'll partly explain that in a second. First, tell me what that thing is."

"This is a laptop..." I said quietly, pointing to the computer, still sitting in my lap.

"A laptop..." he repeated. "What does it do?"

"Eh... well, it let's me write things without needing paper or pens and talk to people all over the world. That's mainly what I use it for..."

"Amazing!" he said, leaning forward to look at it closer. Just before his face appeared in my view, he shot out a hand to cover my eyes.

"Why's it so important?" I said, a little louder out of annoyance. The dagger pressed a bit harder as a warning.

"Well, we don't want to spoil a great surprise!" he answered. They both froze and my mouth and hands were held again as Megan began talking in her sleep across the hall. They waited a few minutes after it was quiet again and released me. I heard the nicer sounding one breathe a sigh of relief. "Well, we can't be discovered now after all this! It wouldn't work out right!"

"Haven't we wasted enough time then?" said the one on the bed, sounding annoyed again.

"Yeah, I guess..." he began to roll up my sleeve.

"It has to be the other arm! The one she writes with."

_Beep, beep, beep!_ My dad's pager sounded throughout the house. The one beside me pressed up against the bed and grabbed my hands down as the one above me clamped a hand over my mouth and held the dagger to my throat again. For some reason, I froze along with them. The sound of my parents voices were heard downstairs and everyone was tense and nervous. Footsteps were heard right outside my door twice and then my parent's door squeaked shut. We all stayed still for almost ten more minutes. I think the reason I didn't struggle again was because I was now very curious about why they were there and I felt that I needed to know. They had me hooked.

After the long pause my hands were finally released again and then my mouth. I closed my laptop and set it on the carpet in front of me. "Why do you need my right arm?" I asked very quietly.

There was a pause and then, "You have a disease." Said the colder one, much to my surprise. "You've had it since you were born and it's going to attack your body soon. There is no way to prevent it once that happens so you have to be injected with the cure now. It will start the symptoms right then but will also be able to fight it off and leave you alive. If you don't get it you will die by tomorrow night."

I just sat there in shock for several minutes. That was not what I had expected. "What are you talking about? I feel fine! Are you two some kind of psycho doctors? Why do you have to sneak in like this to tell me some made up lie?"

"It's not made up. It's very true and you will die if you don't allow us to save you!" he argued back, raising his voice a little. Then it grew gentle and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the other turn to stare at him as he continued. "You don't want to die do you? I don't want you to die..."

I felt my face grow hot as it began to turn red and the man beside me was still staring. The feel of the dagger left my neck and I rubbed the spot where it had been as the seemingly colder man continued in this softer voice. "If you want to die then scream for help and we'll be gone, never to bother you again. If you want to live then stay quiet, shut your eyes and don't move."

The other one's gaze switched from the man behind me to my face as I sat thinking about what he had said. I opened my mouth and saw the one on the ground brace for the scream he knew was coming. I waited for the hand to clamp over my mouth or the cold dagger to pierce my throat, but none of it happened. It was like he wasn't even there anymore. "W-what will happen," I whispered as the one beside me relaxed again. "After I get the shot?"

I heard the reassuring voice answer from behind me. "You will experience great pain and then probably pass out. You're parents will find you here tomorrow and rush you to a hospital. You might scream from the pain and they'll come sooner."

I felt the bed sink a little behind me as the other jumped slightly on. "Don't tell her that! We want her to do it, not get too scared too!"

He jumped as my head slumped to my chest. "If I do... allow it, will you do two things for me before you do it?"

"What things?" said the one on the bed. The other just stared at me, amazed that I was even considering it.

I hesitated first, thinking it over and then spoke. "First you let me get on my bed so I'm not lying on the floor..."

"And second?"

"I get to look at your faces before you do it."

That's when the other jumped in, "No way! That's out of the question!" I felt the air go by me as his shirt was grabbed and he was pulled more onto the bed.

"What are you talking about? Of course that's ok!" the menacing tone had returned and I froze. The other was too startled to argue back. He was released and slid back to the floor. "Would you like to climb onto your bed now? You can look at him on your way up." The nice tone was back again and I marveled at how easily he changed.

I nodded and turned to my left. The man sitting there stared at the ground trying to hide his face in the dark. He was wearing all purple and had black hair, tied in a short ponytail on the back of his neck. My eyes widened as I thought of who it could be. I leaned a little closer. "M-Miroku?" I stammered. He slightly nodded and then covered his face. "But how...?" I nearly screamed as I felt something rub against my butt but clamped a hand over my mouth to stop myself. Instead I just glared at him and he grinned back. The other guy reached down and punched him right in the face. Miroku stumbled back and hit my desk.

"You could've blown it right there! You are very lucky she stopped herself or you too would be screaming right now, screaming for mercy!" his voice, calm a second ago, was now dripping with venom even in a whisper. I chanced a quick glance at him as I slowly climbed onto my bed, stopping in front of him. As soon as I looked away I looked back and stared. Unlike Miroku, he stared right back. He had tall, spiky black hair and red eyes. He seemed very short, even while sitting. I just stared at him, my face blank and unwilling to believe.

"You're the one from the stairs at school?" I asked and he nodded. Next I managed to stutter a name. "Hiei?" He nodded again, unblinking and refusing to look away. I clamped my hands to either side of my head and stared down at the bed, starting to mutter to myself. "This can't be real. I have to be dreaming. Somebody pinch me, I have to be dreaming!"

Hiei reached out a hand and lightly pinched my arm. I slowly looked up and said, in a barely audible voice, "that hurt."

"So, I guess you're not dreaming." Hiei responded quietly.

Miroku slowly sat up and shakily started to pull himself onto the bed with us. Hiei pointed a finger at him and said, "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay down there!"

"I'm so confused! You're just anime characters. You're not real! And why are you together? You're from different shows!"

"You're right," Hiei responded calmly. "But the group from Inuyasha and us all found you at the same time so we're working together to help you, for now. Then we'll have to decide which group you'll go with."

"Go with? Why can't I stay here?"

"You have great powers hidden within you. We're going to help you realize them and then train you on how to use them. Inuyasha had a different reason but I'm not supposed to say that yet... I think he'd be the one who'd want to tell you that part."

"You mean, Inuyasha is... real?" I was in a slight daze. How could I believe this? It wasn't possible!

"Are you ready for the shot?" Hiei asked calmly. "Remember, we had a deal. Now you know who we are so you can talk to us in the hospital."

"L-look me in the eyes and tell me you are Hiei." I stammered.

He looked straight at me and, unblinking, said, "My name is Hiei. I am the one from the show you watch. Yusuke and Kurama are all outside too. So are Kuwabara and Botan, all waiting to meet you."

"Is Yukina?" I asked quietly.

Hiei fell back, caught off guard. "Y-you know about...?" I nodded and he looked away for a second and then recovered. "Are you ready?"

I paused and then spoke again. "One last thing, now look at me and tell me that I'm going to- that I'm going to live..."

Hiei looked at me, moving closer, and I thought I saw sorrow in his eyes but truth as well. "If you allow me to give you this shot then you will survive and have the chance to get all your questions answered."

I nodded and sat still and silent as Hiei went to work. He rolled up my right sleeve and pulled some things out of a bag I just noticed was there. He cleaned the spot he was going to stab and then pulled out the shot. I looked away, amazed at how big it seemed, and clenched my fist. "It won't hurt as much if you relax," Hiei assured me so I let my arm go limp. "Are you ready?" I took a deep breath and nodded as I felt the needle pierce my skin. I bit my lip to keep from crying out as it slid in further. I felt the fluids enter my arm and immediately my body began to ache. My eyes began to water and Hiei pulled out the needle. He held a pad to my arm to catch the falling blood until it stopped. He had been supporting me so when he pulled away I collapsed on my bed. My eyes growing blurry, I saw his outline slide off my bed and gather up the things into the bag. Miroku stumbled to his feet as well, nursing a bruised jaw. I reached a shaky hand out to them. "It hurts..." I managed to say before my arm fell and my body went limp, every nerve screaming.

"Remember us. We will come back for you!" Hiei said. He sounded a million miles away. That was the last thing I saw or heard that night. My head was pounding and my ears felt as if they were stuffed with cotton balls. My eyes stung so badly I held them tightly shut, but the water wouldn't stop coming from them. My stomach was tossing and turning and I felt like I would throw up at any time. My entire body felt limp and I seemed unable to move, like every bone in my body was shattered. It felt as if I was on fire, everything burning and I couldn't hold it in anymore. I started screaming until I was out of breath. Then I would stop, taking in huge gulps of air and then start screaming again. Occasionally I would thrash around and then go limp again. That was the most pain I had ever experienced in my entire life.

Eventually I felt several hands grab me around my legs and arms. The pain where I was touched tripled and I thrashed around, trying to make them let go. My thoughts were completely random and I couldn't think. All I knew was that I was in pain and they were making it worse so they had to leave. The problem was that the more I squirmed, the tighter they held so it just became more painful. When I went through one of the times where my body went limp they finally managed to get me off of my bed onto something hard and cold. It didn't help either. When I tried to get off of it they put hard straps across me to hold me still. The pain was at least five times worse than when I was just lying on my bed and I couldn't take it anymore. I threw up and in a few more minutes I was out cold, though even while unconscious I still felt the steady ache of my body.


	2. Transformed

* * *

I woke up, colors and shapes swirling before my eyes. I tried to reach out and grab one but my arm wouldn't move. The tiniest strain I put my body through sent immense pain surging throughout everything so I relaxed and lay still trying to focus my eyes. 

All I saw were the colors black and white swirling together but then a new one came. It was kind of white and brown and blue and it was towering over me. I grew afraid and tried to move away but my body was still limp and I only succeeded in hurting myself again.

"You're awake!" I heard something say. It sounded very muffled. "It's ok. I'm here to help you. To make sure you come out of this alright." I felt something cool and wet touch my forehead and slightly relaxed. This new feeling was easing the pain a bit and I was able to think. _What happened? Why do I hurt so much? How did I get here? Where is here?_ I paused as I thought about what the new person had said. _Here to help me...?_ I felt my eyes widen as I began to remember. _It was Hiei! And Miroku! They were in my room! Hiei gave me a shot and it hurt so badly! Then... I felt people lift me up and I passed out..._ "Am I in the hospital?" I managed to ask, almost choking on the words.

My vision was clearing up and I saw a lady with brown hair and blue eyes standing over me, holding a wet cloth to my head. Her eyes widened as she realized I had spoken. "Why, yes. Yes you are!" she answered. "I'm going to get the doctor and then you're family will be able to come in to see you. Would you like that?"

I nodded very slightly because I was still hurting and she left though the cloth remained and I was grateful for that. I tried again to lift my arm to adjust it and managed to get it up about an inch before I couldn't stand the pain anymore and let it drop. I let my head fall to the side so I was staring at the door.

After a while a man came through. He had black hair and brown eyes and was dressed in all white. There was a huge grin on his face and I was again reminded of Miroku. "I'm glad to see you're awake!" he said, coming to bend over me. He began examining me to make sure I was fine now. He touched my arm lightly and I cringed. "So, I'm guessing the skin still stings when it's touched." He said.

I nodded and then managed to add, "How did you know?"

"You told me in your sleep. Now, try to lift your right arm for me."

I tried as hard as I could but only succeeded in about an inch and a half this time.

"Now the left please?"

I attempted the left arm this time and to my surprise, I managed to raise it all the way. "I don't understand..." I muttered.

"You're not the only one," joked the doctor. "I'm letting your family in now, alright? I'll be standing by if you need help."

The door opened and my mom immediately rushed in. "Kira? Kira!" she saw me and rushed forward, scooping me into her arms. It hurt so badly! My eyes began to water and she justthought I was crying from happinessupon seeing her again so she didn't let go. "I thought you were gone! You were just lying there, screaming," she trailed off and broke down crying. The doctor came quickly to my side and began prying my mom off of me.

"She's still in great pain!" he explained before my mom could protest. "The slightest touch of her skin sends pains throughout her whole body!"

My mom staggered back and stared at me as I lie there gasping for air and wiping my eyes with my left hand trying to keep myself from throwing up again. She stood for a second and then began crying into my dad and he tried to comfort her as he too looked over at me. I saw all my siblings standing around too and suddenly felt very weak and pathetic. The doctor must have noticed because right afterwards he scooted them all outside and closed the door behind him as he returned. He renewed the wet rag on my forehead and then told me to get some rest as he too left the room.

As I lay there staring at the ceiling I thought of Hiei and Miroku. _Was it just a dream? No... He pinched me and it hurt. Doesn't that mean I'm not dreaming? Well, at least he wasn't lying. I'm not dead... yet. They said they would come visit me. I'll wait and see if that happens._ Despite trying to stay awake I slowly drifted off to sleep.

I was awakened the next day as the lady from before was moving around my room. I realized now that she was the nurse. "You're awake again!" she said happily. "Can you sit up now?"

I tried and realized that the burning pain was now reduced to a dull ache. I was able to sit up fairly easily. As soon as I was up she started slipping pillows behind my back so I wouldn't have to strain to support myself. Then she set a tray of food in front of me on the bed.

I looked at it and then at the nurse. "How long have I been here?" I found speaking a lot easier now too.

She counted on her fingers, "Well, you arrived Wednesday night around two and it is now Friday evening around six. So that would mean about... ten days."

I coughed on my drink in surprise. "What? How can it have been that long? I was asleep for nine days?"

"Yep!" said the nurse. "So you must be hungry. Eat up!" With that she left the room.

I stared after her until the door shut and then turned to the food in front of me. "No wonder I'm so hungry..." I muttered as I began shoveling it into my mouth.

An hour later, as I sat staring around the room the doctor came back in. "It's time for another examination! You look like you've improved a lot since yesterday." He said as he started messing about. "Yes, lot's of improvements..." In a few minutes he was done and left me alone again. I began to wish for a book or CDs or most of all, my computer. I lay back against the pillows that lay behind me and slowly fell into a daze.

I was snapped awake again at a knock on my door. The doctor entered with several people behind him. My eyes widened as I saw who they were. "They demanded to see you now." He said.

"It's alright." I answered as I stared. The first one I picked out of the crowd was Hiei, then Miroku. Others were there too. I began thinking of the shows so I could figure out who they were. The blue haired girl was Botan, and the boy with slicked back black hair was Yusuke. Following them was Kurama and Kuwabara and after them was... My eyes widened again. Was that Yukina? Hiei was avoiding her so it must be! Kagome came in after everyone else looking around uneasily.

Botan turned to the doctor. "Thank you for showing us in. Could we be left alone now?" she asked sweetly.

"Er..." the doctor looked at me and I stared back with pleading eyes. "I guess so... but not too long!" he said as he went out the door. Kurama closed it softly behind him.

Yusuke came forward and peered down at me. "So this is the all powerful girl who will help us win? Doesn't look like much... Ow!"

Botan had come up behind him and hit the back of his head. She came over to me next smiling warmly and took my hand. "Don't mind him sweetie. He doesn't know anything. Does it still hurt?"

"A-a little." I stammered, nervous and overcome by all the people around me that I thought were fake just a week ago.

"Just a little? Good." Botan released my hand and turned to Yukina. "Yukina!" she called.

"Yes?" the girl looked up and came closer while Hiei backed away.

"Could you heal her the rest of the way?" Botan asked.

Yukina nodded. "Of course." She came to my side and let her hand rest on my right arm where the needle had gone in as I just stared at her. Her hands began to glow and the aching of my body started to stop. "Does it hurt anymore?" she said softly. I shook my head and she backed away.

Kuwabara shoved his face right in mine. "See? Yukina's great at healing!" He said happily.

Kurama grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him away. "We don't want to overcrowd her." He said calmly. He walked forward to stand beside my bed and knelt down so his face was even with mine. "Do you know who we are?" he asked.

"You're anime characters." I responded quietly and he laughed.

"You're right!" he said. "But do you believe that we're real?"

"I guess I have to... I mean you're here, aren't you? But, what if you're just psychos dressed up to fool me?" I asked.

"Then we'll have to give demonstrations to prove we're real. But that will have to wait until we get outside." He said with a warm smile as he stood and backed away again.

Yusuke put his hands behind his head, looking very bored. "So... can you stand yet? Usually you can leave once you can stand. You do want to leave don't you?"

I looked up at him and nodded. "I haven't tried yet..."

"Kira, how old are you?" asked Botan suddenly.

"I'm 14..." I replied slowly.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "That's how old Yusuke is! You've been through a lot for being at such a young age and I'm afraid it doesn't stop here..." Her face grew troubled for a second but brightened again right after. "So, shall we try to go?"

"Now? What about my family?" I asked, slowly swinging my legs around so they were hanging off the edge of the bed. I slid down and collapsed at first but managed to struggle to my feet right after, leaning on the bed. I let go and managed to take a few wobbly steps, determined not to fall in front of all these people. After a while I could walk normally again.

That's when the doctor came back in. "What are you doing out of bed!" he cried as he saw me walking around slowly. "These people talked you into it didn't they? I knew I shouldn't have let them in!" he tried to round them all up and shove them out the door.

"Stop!" I said. "They didn't make me, I did it on my own. I feel fine now!"

"Nonsense." He said and tried to push me back to my bed. He was amazed I didn't fall over when he did.

"See? I'm fine now. I would like to leave." I said quietly but determined.

"But!" he looked at me and decided I wouldn't change my mind so he gave in. "I'll call your parents. At least stay here and wait for them. They don't look like they're leaving either..." he said indicating the group around the door. "Just be careful. Don't overexert yourself." He left the room to find a phone.

I backed up and lowered myself upon the bed, not wanting to appear weak by collapsing in front of all these people who were so much stronger than me. They came closer again. Botan kept taking my hands and asking if I was sure I was ok and Yusuke kept hiding his concern with sarcastic remarks. Kuwabara kept getting up in my face to talk and Kurama took it upon himself to hold him back. I looked around at them all and my eyes met Hiei's. Instantly he turned away and it made me feel bad. Had I done something wrong? He was so warm and friendly the other night and now he was standing in a corner of the room away from everyone. _Maybe it's all the people here now, making him nervous._ I decided. I glanced at Miroku but he was too busy watching Hiei. His jaw was bandaged and he didn't want to get hit again. Kagome was watching me with a sympathetic look on her face, which made me feel very uneasy, and Yukina was staring strangely at Hiei. Kuwabara broke her thoughts when he came to stand with her and began flirting. Hiei shot him a deathly look but noticed that I had seen and looked away again.

Ten minutes later the doctor reentered the room. "I called and they're on their way." He said and I nodded in reply. I was beginning to feel tired again and didn't want to give it away with a shaky voice.

I leaned back on the pillows and as soon as I did Kuwabara was back in my face. "Are you hurting again? Do you need Yukina to help you? She's really good at healing..." he said with a red-faced smile at her. She giggled and waved back totally clueless. I shook my head as Kurama again hauled him away from me.

A short while later my mom came barging in but stopped dead at the sight of all the people. They looked at her for a second and then made a clear path so she could get to me. "Who are all these people?" she whispered, with a quick glance around at them.

Kurama slowly approached her. "We're friends of your daughters." He replied kindly and I nodded to back it up.

My mom looked from him to me and wasn't sure to believe it or not but decided to ignore it. My dad entered the room then and he too stared around at all the people. He approached my bed and said, "the doctor told us you were walking around and had decided you wanted to go home."

My mom frowned and felt my forehead. "Well, you don't feel hot anymore..." she said, growing uneasy under all the stares. "And I know I hate staying in hospitals..." she added quietly. "Can you walk to the car? We're parked right outside. Everyone's waiting for you."

I nodded and staggered to my feet, following them out the door looking at the ground as I passed everyone. I felt their stares on me and it made me nervous. In the short distance to the door I somehow managed to trip over my own feet. As I was falling Hiei rushed over and caught me lightly. My parents turned just in time to see and rushed to my side taking me from him. Hiei backed off with a red face and Yusuke immediately began cracking jokes. I looked up at everyone and managed a soft smile before I passed out in my father's arms.

Kurama came to my side and attempted to help support me. "Please allow me to help you." He said and my father slowly agreed. Kurama slipped an arm around my waist and placed my arm around his neck so he could hold me better and then followed my dad out the door. Everyone else streamed out behind us.

As we passed him in the hall the doctor tried to make a rush for me but was knocked back by Yusuke who hit him into a wall while pretending to yawn. He looked back at him and winked, "We'll take it from here old man." He said.

The doctor stared after him for a bit before replying indignantly, "I am not old!"

We slowly made our way to the car waiting outside, attracting a lot of stares on the way. It's not everyday you see a bunch of longhaired guys carrying an unconscious girl out of a hospital. Usually you leave once you're feeling well and hardly any guys have waist long hair now!

Occasionally I would awaken and look up at who was holding me. Kurama would smile down at me and I would be out again, comforted by his smile. Once he whispered to me that they would come to my house soon, this time by the front door and in a smaller group, so they could explain things further.

We reached the doors and passed through. I was aroused by the fresh breeze on my face, the first one felt in over a week and was aware of my body being lifted into the car and strapped into a seat. I felt the stares of my sibling's directedtowards my limp form and at the people who had helped me. I was awarewhen the door slammed and as we drove away I stared weakly out ofthe window at their diminishing forms. Every now and then someone would try to get me to talk to them, start a conversation, but as I was too tired to speak, they would give up after every attempt.

We pulled into the driveway and I was slowly helped out of the car and up to my room where I was laid gently on my bed and fell asleep instantly. I was out for two days.

* * *

When I woke up again I sat up quickly, my eyes wide, and looked around expecting all those people to be standing around me. I rubbed my eyes and felt my hair fall around my face. _It feels strange down..._ I thought as I brushed it behind my ears. I looked around and rubbed my eyes. _Was it all a dream? I kind of hope it wasn't... am I going crazy?_ I lifted my sleeve and looked at my right arm where the needle had gone in. There was a small hole showing that it had really happened. I looked down at my bed and put my face in my hands and began to cry quietly. I had needed to ever since I had first felt the needle pierce my skin. I stopped suddenly as I felt like I was being watched and stared at the window. The blinds were up and I shielded my eyes from the light. "What... are those?" I said to myself. There, on the windowsill right outside were some muddy footprints! I blinked and rubbed my eyes thinking I must be tired and they were playing tricks on me. I looked again and they were still there. _Inuyasha?_ I thought wildly. 

I threw the covers off of myself and staggered to my feet. My stomach growled and I held it. _I've..._ _lost some weight_, I thought randomly as I stumbled down the stairs. When I entered the kitchen everyone was eating pancakes and they all froze to stare at me. My mom quickly recovered and rushed to my side. "You should have waited for someone to check on you!" she said, leading me to a seat and setting a plate in front of me.

"No one ever comes to my room." I said as I began to slowly eat. My right arm still ached the most so I had to go slow but the rest of me felt fine. I still seemed a little tired though. As I ate I felt the stares on me but kept eating, trying to ignore them. As I finished my second pancake the doorbell rang and I got to my feet. "I'll get it," I said. And started towards the door.

My mom headed me off. "No, no. You sit back down and rest. I'll get it."

"I've been sleeping for ten days mom!" I replied. "I said I would get it!" she stared at me but decided not to yell at me for raising my voice since I had been ill. I managed to reach the door, holding my side and breathing hard as I leaned against it for a moment. Then, taking a deep breath, I unlocked it and swung it wide.

"You're up!" Botan screamed as she threw her arms around me. "I was worried you'd still be in bed."

She released me and I staggered back, breathing hard again. "P-please. Come in," I choked.

"Oh dear," she sighed. "I guess you're still feeling kind of weak. That's understandable though!" she stepped inside the door, this time with just Kurama and Kagome with her.

"Who is it?" my mom called from the kitchen.

"Just some worried friends!" Botan cheerfully replied. My mom came to the door and gasped as she saw who it was. She pulled me away and asked, "and who are you again? How do you know my daughter?"

"Mom!" I said, pulling away. "They're fine! Leave them alone..."

"Actually ma'am." Kurama said, stepping forward. "We were wondering if Kira could come outside with us for a while? We promise to have her back before nightfall."

At my mom's hesitation I intervened. "How about if I take a phone? Can I go please?" I felt my eyes filling with tears, though I did not know why, but it helped because she looked at me and went to get the phone. She turned it on and handed it to me. "By nightfall." She said.

Kurama nodded and led me out the door. Botan and Kagome quickly followed and we left my mother standing in the doorway, watching us go. She sighed and returned inside, locking the doors behind her.

Kurama turned to make sure she was no longer looking and then spoke to me quietly. "Can you walk fine again?" I nodded and he continued. "Good. We're just going to your backyard. Deep in the forest the others are waiting for us... and you. Let's go!"

On the way Botan began explaining. "Alright. You probably have so many questions! Let's start at the beginning. The reason we knew you were the one with the disease is that we've seen you die of it before." She continued before I could speak. "Yes, I know. That sounds very strange, but it's true! Over five hundred years ago you were separated from your family and somehow ended up here, in America. You were reborn into a human family here and was raised by them knowing nothing of your past life, but between the ages of thirteen and fifteen every time you would die of this mysterious disease. One time it was at the very young age of five and another at eighteen. No matter the age the results were always the same. You would die of the same disease, one with no cure and no antidote, and then you were reborn into a different human family."

I stared at her in shock for a second at what I was hearing. "B-but how is that possible?" I stammered.

"We were never quite sure until that day fourteen days ago, the day before they came into your room. That was the day we arrived here with the antidote. That was also the day your true brother finally found you."

"My... true brother?"

"Yes. Here you have been randomly born into various families with a lot of different brothers, but he is the original, the real deal. He missed you very much. As I said, it's been over five hundred years."

"Five hundred years..." I repeated. "I still don't understand how that's possible!"

"Well, I'll leave it to him to explain his part how he wants to but I will say this. You're originally from Japan as are us all. You somehow fell out of your world and landed in this one where something strange happened. I'm not sure if you died first or if it just happened but that's when you're soul was taken and born into a family here for the first time. Since then, it's just repeated. If you look in the paper there's articles about it. Articles about why a girl dies around every fifteen years who always has an almost identical face. The humans are catching on..."

"But why wait until now to do something? Why even care?"

"Well, we just made the cure for the illness you've had and we've also recently discovered something about you..." Botan trailed off.

We had reached the woods now and I turned at its edge, to stare at her as I caught my breath. "What was that?" I asked. Kurama stooped and picked me up. "What are you doing?" I asked, my face turning bright red.

He laughed at my embarrassment. "It's alright. You're not heavy and you're tiring yourself out! From what I've figured out you'll need strength to complete these next parts."

"Next... parts?" I asked. He didn't answer so I turned back to Botan. "Why'd you stop talking?"

"Well... I..." she sighed and started up again. "We've discovered that since you've died so many times, you now have a great amount of spirit energy built up but it's not in you. That's one of the hard parts coming. Koenma has kept your energy safe. He's been storing it for you back in spirit world! You'll get to go there with us to take it back later."

"But, why isn't it inside me now? How do I get it back?"

Botan looked down and took a deep breath. "You do watch Yu Yu Hakusho don't you?" I nodded and she continued. "Well, you remember how Yusuke was given all that power and he had to place it inside himself and endure the pain to master it? That's what you'll have to do."

"What?" I exclaimed.

Kurama stopped as well and turned to stare at Botan. Thiswas the first time the actual plan had been told to him."You can't make her do that! She's just a child, ahuman girl! She won't be able to take that pain and hers will be much greater than Yusuke's. I can already feel some inside of her right now and it's very strong already!"

Botan looked down. "What can we do? We can't make it somehow painless! All we can do is train her and toughen her up. We might be able to take it back out if it doesn't look like she can handle it and try again later..."

As I listened I grew more and more terrified of what was to come. I shut my eyes tightly and hoped it was a dream now. More than anything I wished it was a dream! I felt someone stroke my cheek and opened my eyes. It was Kurama. "Don't be afraid." He said softly. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you." I nodded and relaxed a bit, realizing that he would be able to feel my body tense with fear since he was holding me so there was no point.

Slowly, Kagome increased her pace so she was even with Kurama and me. "Are you feeling ok?" she asked quietly. It was the first time I had heard her speak and I nodded slowly. Her eyes were full of sadness. "I'm sorry." She said softly. "I'm amazed at how you managed all that pain. I saw them taking you to the hospital. Even though you were unconscious you were still writhing and screaming..." she closed her eyes for a moment and then continued. "I just want you to know that you're not weak. The others might say that at first but you shouldn't listen to them. I wouldn't have been able to survive as well as you did. I'd still be in the hospital bed. I think you'll surprise them once you meet your brother though."

I looked over at her, feeling ready to cry again but I held them back. "You are Kagome right? Have you seen the anime Inuyasha?" she nodded. "Is everything in it true?" she nodded again. "Then there's no way you're weak! You fight demons and things all the time. You probably would've handled it better than me. I've never even broken a bone! The worst I've had was stitches until now. That was a big gap I leapt just then. But thank you..." I added quietly.

She looked at me and slowly smiled. "No, thank you. You really are very kind and sweet, just like he said..." she slowed until she was behind us in step with Botan now.

Everyone fell silent now as we headed ever deeper into the woods. Even though I was being carried, I still felt weaker with every step and I grew weary. Before I knew it I was asleep in Kurama's arms.

When I next awoke I was on the ground, leaning against a tree with something soft behind my head. I slowly sat up and brushed the hair out of my eyes as my eyes began to focus to the gloom. Everyone was there, including Shippou,Sango and Kirara, who I hadn't seen yet. At first I didn't remember why I was there but then began to recall being carried into the forest and slowly calmed down. I looked around and that's when they noticed I was awake again. Kurama looked over at me and smiled, "So, you're awake again I see."

"How long was I out?" I asked, my face turning red.

"Just one hour." He replied.

"Yeah... Just an hour..." I muttered but jumped as a voice above me answered.

"It's ok. You needed the rest, I could sense it."

I quickly stood and turned around, making myself dizzy in the process, and looked up in the tree. A boy with long silver hair and two little dog-ears stared down at me. He wore an expression I had never seen before in the show and I just stared stupidly back. "I-Inuyasha?" I stammered. As soon as these words escaped my mouth I felt a burning pain all over my body and collapsed where I stood. Some tried to rush to my side with Inuyasha but were held back. Everyone watched as I reopened my eyes to see Inuyasha trying to help me up. I smiled up at him warmly with a strange golden glow deep in my eyes and spoke. "Hello Inuyasha, what are you doing here?"

He stared at me for a second and then responded slowly. "I just came to see if you were ok..."

I laughed and stood the rest of the way. "Why wouldn't I be ok?" I plopped down and stared out at a sunset only I could see. "Isn't it beautiful?" I sighed.

Everyone stared at me. "What's going on?" Inuyasha whispered.

Miroku stepped up and replied slowly, "I think she might be reliving a memory between you two Inuyasha. Just play along."

I turned and looked at Inuyasha. "What's wrong?" I asked. "What are you staring at?"

He turned back to me. "It's nothing..." He then sat down by my side.

"Inuyasha, can I ask you something?" I said, as I moved closer and began rubbing his ears. His tense body immediately relaxed and his leg slightly shook for a moment before it went limp as well.

"Sure." He said, slightly in a daze.

"Why do you and Sesshoumaru always fight? Why is he so against humans?"

Inuyasha was caught off guard and looked at everyone there with a red face before turning back to me. "Well..."

"I think we should leave them alone for a while." Said Kurama quietly. Slowly everyone agreed and went off into the woods.

Inuyasha continued. "As you know, he's a full demon, I'm only half. That's a big deal to him. He sees others who are not full demon or demon's not as strong as him as inferior and has taught himself that they must be destroyed." He clenched his fist and I rubbed his ears some more so he relaxed again.

"But..." I began, tears forming in my eyes. "I'm not quite a full demon... Does that mean he hates me too?" I looked up at Inuyasha with tears beginning to fall and he wiped one away.

"You're his little sister. He loves you just as a big brother should. He looks out for you too. Have you noticed that he becomes jealous when you and I are alone? Especially when you rub my ears like this. It makes him mad to see us enjoying time together. He just wants you all for himself. That also adds to why he hates me so much. Because you like me too... He knows you hate it when we fight and that's why he stops if you come near but it still happens, every day."

I threw my arms around him and started crying, my face on his chest and mumbled, "I'm really sorry Inuyasha! It's all my fault he attacks you so much!"

He looked into the sky and put an arm around me. Slowly he hugged me back. "Don't cry... Even if you weren't here he would still be after me. I told you, he thinks he's superior. Having you here is great because you're the only one besides my mother who truly accepts me."

I slowly looked up at him. "Why? Why are people so evil to you!"

"It's because I'm different. People are scared of things that are different. The humans don't like me because I'm half demon and other demons don't like me because I'm half human."

"But... I'm not quite a full demon either... Why am I treated any different than you?"

"Probably because you're a girl. Also, you're very nice to everyone and everything. No matter what it is, you'll happily lend some help. Though it is strange..." He shook his head andsmiled down at me. "Now, I have a question for you."

I sat up. "What is it?"

Inuyasha began pulling on a silver chain around his neck. It was so small and thin that I hadn't even noticed it was there until now. As he pulled it all the way out of his clothes, I saw a small, heart shaped pendent on it. He took it from around his neck and placed it in my hand. "This is yours." He said.

I looked at it carefully. "It looks very familiar..." I said slowly.

"Open it up."

I took it between two fingers and dug a nail into the lock. With a soft click it sprung open in my hand. I clasped a hand over my mouth as I stared inside it. On one side of the heart was a small picture of me in between Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha and me were openly grinning and there was even a slight hint of a smile beginning on Sesshoumaru's face. On the inside cover was placed a picture of my mother and our father, each smiling softly with their arms around each other. "W-where is this from?" I asked.

"Read the back."

I closed the little heart and flipped it over.

"_In return for saving my life,  
__I leave you this to remember me by.  
__-Sean_"

I read aloud and stared at Inuyasha.

"This... is mine? Then why did you have it?"

Inuyasha looked at me and held my hand closed around the small locket. "You lost it over five hundred years ago, the day you disappeared. I've kept it safe since then, intending to return itand have only just found you."

"Five... hundred years?" I stammered, staring at him in shock. "But how-"

He placed a hand softly over my mouth. "Look around you. This is not the forest we grew up in. This is not the time we grew up in. You are not yourself. You are simply reliving a memory, that is all. I played along, waiting for the right time to reveal the truth."

I looked frantically at myself and around the surrounding forest. "You're right!" I said. "This is not home! But, how did I get here so long ago? I... I don't remember!" My eyes flashed red and I groaned, suddenly unable to breathe and started clawing at my own throat. Inuyasha quickly held down my hands. "What's wrong?" he shouted.

The others heard the shouts and moans and they all came rushing back, stopping dead at the sight. "What's going on!" someone shouted, but I couldn't tell who it was. I suddenly started coughing and Inuyasha released my hands, now keeping me from collapsing instead. I started gasping for air, my lungs about to burst and then my entire body went limp. I looked up at Inuyasha's face, hovering above my own. "I don't want anymore pain..." I whispered with tears in my eyes. The others stayed back, unsure of what to do. I started shaking violently and placed both hands tight over my ears. They suddenly felt very strange and it was hurting very badly. When I removed my hands and placed them closer to the top of my head, my ears were gone! I was momentarily deaf but then the sounds came in more than tripled. I could hear every bug, every breeze, every move someone made. I kept my hands over my head and began screaming in a voice too high to be my own. "Make it stop! It's too loud, make it stop!"

Inuyasha clamped his hands over his dog-ears and yelled back. "Why are you screaming? It's hurting my head!"

Kagome gasped as she looked from me to Inuyasha. We were holding our heads in the same exact spots! "Inuyasha!" she yelled. "Did she have ears like yours?" He nodded, still covering his so Kagome continued. "I think she just got them back! That's why everything is suddenly so loud to her!"

Inuyasha stared at Kagome as he realized what she said was probably true, and then looked back down at me. My nails and canine teeth were growing steadily longer. He picked me up, still screaming for the noise to stop. "I'm going to find a quieter place!" he yelled over me. "We'll come back once she's calmed down!"

"Wait a minute!" someone shouted, but we were already gone.

Hiei began to follow after us but Kurama saw him and grabbed his arm. "Where do you think you're going?" he whispered, going a bit away from the others.

"I'm going to follow them! He could steal her away to his world again."

Kurama chuckled. "And you would miss her very much, wouldn't you Hiei?"

His face turned slightly red as he turned away, glaring. "No!"

"Sure." Said Kurama. "But I will allow you to go. Be very quiet though! She has to get used to her new ears. If they are like her brother's then her hearing will have increased very much. It will be overwhelming at first but she should get used to it fairly quick."

Hiei nodded and bounded off through the woods after us leaving Kurama standing there, laughing quietly to himself. _I wonder what they went through the night he entered her room?_ He thought. _I noticed her watching him in the hospital and she was disappointed when he didn't check on her like everyone else did. It would seem she returns his feelings, though she is still young and doesn't understand yet. Oh well, I'll have to wait and see how it turns out I guess._ He smiled one last time before returning to the others.

"Make... It... Stop!" I was still screaming as Inuyasha ran with me into the forest, steadily growing more and more annoyed.

"Will you please be quiet!" he yelled, his ears twitching, as he tried to find a quieter place to stop. "And stop squirming!" I was continuously thrashing around from the pain in my head.

Finally we found a place to rest and Inuyasha set me down, trying to calm me and I lay there, holding my head. "It's ok." He whispered. "Take a deep breath and slowly release your head." I began to do as asked. "That's it. You're doing fine. Does it still hurt as much?"

I sniffed and wiped my face. "Not as much..." I said, in a barely audible whisper.

"Good. You just need a little bit of quiet so you can get used to them." he stroked my head softly. "I know it hurts at first but it will be ok. You need to be able to stand up to people who are yelling. Nobody was even speaking when you freaked out..." He took this chance to get a good look at me and the changes I had gone through just a moment ago. My hair was now flowing down in silky waves to far below my waist and while most of it was it's original pure black, there were still many patches near the top of the dark brown it had just been from my most recent human form. I also had two ears sitting on my head, both of them the same black as my hair though noticeably larger than Inuyasha's and more resembling a wolf's than a dog's. I started to rub an eye, but Inuyasha caught my hand before I could.

"What are you...?" I began but Inuyasha interrupted.

"Take a look at your nails." I did and my eyes widened. They were no longer the rounded nails of my human self, but now were curved, sharp and pointed, at least an inch long if straightened. "We don't want you poking an eye out..." Inuyasha warned. "Now, look at me. I need to see your eyes..." I looked at him slowly and he stared straight into my eyes, making me feel uncomfortable. "Hmm... It seems that only one eye changed back..."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I also noted that I was still talking in the higher pitched voice and decided that it must be my original one from my demon form. Since I was partly transformed I had gotten it back as well.

"You're eyes are usually bright, emerald green but right now one is deep blue. That's normal though because your eyes also change color to match how you're feeling so it's showing that right now you feel sadness." I nodded slightly and he continued. "The other one is a dark, brownish green. It remains the same as your recent human form, unchanged. Umm..." he looked away uneasily.

"What is it?"

"You're... also missing your tail."

"What?" I screamed, and turned quickly around. "My tail! It's gone! Where did it go?" I continued, running in miniaturecircles, trying to see behind myself.

"Calm down!" Inuyasha cried, taking my hand so I would look at him. "You haven't finished your transformation back into your old self and I can think of only one reason why. You haven't seen Sesshoumaru yet. I mean, he's the one with the tail. You saw me and got the ears back so you must have to see him to get whatever's left! You're also missing the crescent moon on your forehead, the one identical to his that you shared and the red streaks under your eye."

"How do I get them back?" I asked nervously, tilting my head to one side in confusion.

"We have to go back and find him. You can talk to him and get him to believe you're his sister, which won't be easy, and then maybe you'll change back all the way. I think we can return to the other's first though. You seem to have gotten used to you're knew hearing abilities. Let's test your claw use." He picked up a leaf from the ground beside him. "Try touching this just enough to scratch it but not totear it all the way through."

"Ok..." I slowly reached out and ran my nails down the leaf. When I pulled them away, sure that I had done it, I looked up to see the leaf shredded in several pieces. "Whoops..."

"That was pathetic." I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of the voice. I turned and saw Hiei standing on the edge of the clearing, staring at us with a smirk. "He said not to cut it."

"Back off!" Said Inuyasha, rising to his feet and clenching his fists. "She just got them back. It's not her fault if she doesn't have complete control yet!"

Hiei shrugged and crossed his arms. "Fine then. I just came to make sure you hadn't run off with her back to your world."

I sat silently on the ground, my face red and burning with embarrassment. "Let me try again." I whispered.

"What?" said Inuyasha turning.

"Let me try again!" I screamed and he fell back in surprise.

"But..." he stopped at my face. My one eye was turning red, not glowing like before I changed, just normal, though instead of green, it was red. It showed how angry I was and Inuyasha quickly gave in. He snatched up another leaf and held it in front of me. I took a quick swipe at it and when Inuyasha looked at it he saw the faintest signs of scratches on it. "Very good." He said, smiling. "Now let's go find the others."

We stood and walked through the forest with Hiei trailing behind. I could feel his eyes boring into my back but I didn't turn around. Instead we all kept going until we arrived back at the camp with everyone else. Hiei quickly slid around to appear like he had been there the whole time, waiting for us with everyone else.

They all stopped and stared as I came into view. A few mouths dropped open and even Kurama looked surprised! Botan came rushing over. "What happened? Is this what that girl was hinting at?" she pointed to Kagome who, I now noticed, wasn't as surprised as the rest.

"I guess so..." I said and then collapsed. Inuyasha caught me and leaned me gently against a tree as Miroku came over.

"What's wrong with her now?" he asked, examining my newest features. He began rubbing my ear but Inuyasha slapped his hand away, his fist clenching.

"Leave her alone Miroku! She just transformed and she needs to rest, again."

"How much rest does it take to recover from a simple transformation?" Hiei said, stepping forward.

"You have no right to talk half pint!" Kuwabara yelled. "You went into hibernation for six hours before. You couldn't even stand up!"

"Oh? I'm surprised you even know what hibernation means." Hiei replied with a smirk.

Kuwabara tried to charge him but Yusuke held him back. "Alright, calm it down. We're all on the same team here!"

"Oh no, let him try. I still haven't had a chance to kill him yet and with this new power it won't take long and it will be more painful for him than I'd hoped for..." Hiei said softly.

Kuwabara fell back a few steps. "What have I told you about this being a no dragon man zone?" he yelled. Hiei just snorted and stared back at him.

Yusuke stepped forward and took Kuwabara's arm, pulling him back further. "Alright, let's keep you two separated for now..."

Kurama had taken this time to move closer to me. "Hmm... she'll be out for a while. We should get her home and come again tomorrow."

"But! She's supposed to come with me so we can finish the transformation!" Inuyasha complained.

"Her mother will call the police and we will never be able to get near her again if we don't bring her back before dark." He lifted me gently into his arms and turned towards Inuyasha. "Would you like to accompany me?"

"Yeah, I guess," muttered Inuyasha as he walked over to Kurama. Slowly they started off into the woods back towards my house, leaving the others behind to stare again.

"Why does he let him carry her and not me?" Miroku asked, and was answered by a slap to the head from Sango.

When Inuyasha and Kurama reached my house the sun was setting and my mom was standing by the door, staring out the window. When she saw them approaching with me unconscious again she ran out to meet them. "What happened?" she asked, glancing back at me and staring.

"She went through a little transformation." Kurama answered calmly. "If you would allow us to enter your house we will happily explain things better."

My mother simply nodded and walked back to the door with Inuyasha and Kurama following. As they entered the kitchen my dad looked over and jumped up. "What have you done?" he yelled, and then stopped to stare at me. He slowly reached out and touched one of my ears. "What are those?"

"As you can see she's changed a little. The stress of it upon her body has made her tired so right now she is just sleeping." Kurama said. "She will be fine with a little rest. If you show me where it is we should go up to her room and let her sleep while I tell you what's going on."

Right then,Nick came out of the playroom. He froze at the site of the boy with dog-ears and just stared. Inuyasha took a step back as Nick went slowly towards him. Stopping one foot in front of Inuyasha Nick slowly reached out and poked one of his ears. It twitched under his touch and caused Inuyasha to yell. "What do you think you're doing?"

Nick took a step back and muttered. "I had to see if it was real..."

Kurama laughed and turned to Inuyasha. "You can't blame him. It's not normal." He then followed my dad who was leading them to my room.

My mom turned to Nick. "Stay down here. We'll be in Kira's room but you have to keep everyone else in the playroom for now." She then went after the others up the stairs, leaving Nick in the kitchen staring after them.

My dad opened the door to my room and entered. Kurama went after him and laid my body down upon my bed and then sat down at the end. Inuyasha sat on the other side of me closer to my head so he could be first to notice when I recovered and woke up. My parents pulled out random chairs or trunks from around the room and sat in front of my closet, across from my bed.

"Ok, it seems we're ready." Kurama said. "Inuyasha, would you like to tell them what's happened?"

"You tell the first part and I'll tell starting after we left with her earlier." Inuyasha replied.

Kurama nodded and started things off. "Well you see, we discovered something very strange about Kira here. Starting a bit over five hundred years ago she was separated from her real family somehow and landed here. Since then she has lasted about fourteen years each life before she died of a strange disease and then was reborn into another family. We recently found a cure for the sickness and had a couple people sneak into her room on the night she was taken to the hospital and they injected her with the antidote. That's the only reason she survived this time." He stopped at their unbelieving faces. "If you don't believe me you can look at some old newspapers. People started to realize it. They discovered that around every fifteen years or so a young girl would die of this strange disease. Each time the girl had almost thesame face. They couldn't explain it but they did know it was happening so they put it in the newspaper each time so they could keep a record."

"We don't have papers that old..." my dad said slowly.

"Then just take a look at your daughter now. You can tell she isn't normal. There is a great power growing inside of her. I can sense it even now. After every rebirth it steadily increased in power and now it is hard to imagine how strong she has become." He shook his head. "Now, Inuyasha, it's your turn to speak."

Inuyasha looked up. "Ok, when she was taken this morning she was brought to the woods behind your house. That's where everyone else is staying right now. She saw me and went into some kind of trance. She was reliving an old memory of a moment we shared before she left. During it I pulled out this necklace." He stopped to pry something out of my hand. I hadn't let go of he locket even during the transformation. He held it up when he had finally made me let go. "Inside it holds a picture of her with me and our older brother and of our father and her mother. When she saw it she started to remember and then suddenly began changing. After she passed out because she was tired from it all. And... now we're back here." He finished speaking and placed the necklace in Kurama's outstretched hand.

He fiddled with it for a bit and then turned to Inuyasha. "How does it open?"

Inuyasha took it back and dug a claw into the lock, making it click open. "It was designed for her so she could open it and most others couldn't. You have to have a long nail or claw to make it work."

Kurama nodded and took it back. It was the first time he had seen it and he studied the pictures inside, comparing the girl's face to mine. "They are the same person." He said, showing my parents.

My mom took it and stared at it for a while. "I don't understand..."

Inuyasha snatched it out of her hand. "What are you talking about? We just explained everything! So now you know that she can't stay here. I'm her true brother and she's coming back with me!"

"And we don't want innocent people hurt if her power is accidentally tapped into and used." Kurama added. "Do you really think she could find a place here with her new appearance?"

"Yes!" My mom cried desperately. "She has always been very nice! She'll still fit in!"

Inuyasha shook his head. "You're wrong." He muttered. "I'm speaking from experience. Humans fear anything even slightly different from themselves. Imagine the reaction if she went to... what was it called? Class? Yeah, if she went to class like that everyone would run away or just stare at her until she wouldn't be able to handle it anymore."

"It's true..." I said faintly, causing Inuyasha to jump.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked.

"Just now. In time to here what you just said." I sat up slowly, one eye swirling deep blue, and looked at my parents. "They're right. There's no place for me here anymore..." I stopped to stare at my long claws and Kurama handed me the necklace again. "I would like to leave with them tonight. No, tomorrow morning. I want to tell people I'm leaving and explain why I've not been updating." I laughed quietly. "You should see them online. You miss one day and they think you've committed suicide and all start freaking out. For now, I'm going to sleep..." I lay back down and rolled over, clutching the locket in my hand and drifted off to sleep again.

Inuyasha, Kurama and my parents slowly rose and left me to rest. My parents had given up on convincing them to let me stay. They had heard me say it myself, that I didn't belong anymore, so they now had no good reason's to persuade them.

The next day I woke up to find Inuyasha dozing on the floor, leaning against my bed. I lightly tapped his head to wake him up and asked, "should I bring extra clothes or something?"

"I guess so... We shouldn't be coming back here for a while."

I nodded and gathered up a few things into my empty school backpack. I paused for a second and stared at my CD's and player. I shrugged and tossed them into the bag as well, along with my camera. Then Inuyasha and I made our way down the stairs. I set down the bag and went to my laptop whereI thenopened it up and typed in the password. It came to the desktop and Inuyasha snorted. "Why do you have a picture of him there?"

"I like the moon. It's very pretty..." I said. That was partly true at least. The picture was of Sesshoumaru standing in front of the full moon in a field of grass. I loved that picture.

I opened the window for my webpage and looked at the most recent post I had made, the night I was sent to the hospital. My eyes widened. I had 34 comments! I clicked to read them as Inuyasha stared fascinated over my shoulder. "This is my computer." I said, laughing. "It was in my room when Miroku came in. He made me tell him what it did already. I mainly use it to talk to my friends all over the world. I'm about to leave a post to tell them where I've been."

I started to read the comments, beginning with the first ones. They were all calm, about my post, but then they started changing to say things like, "Where are you?" "Are you ok?" "Come back soon!" I laughed and clicked to add a post.

_Don't worry! I'm alive!_ I typed for the subject. Then I began the real post.

_Hey everyone! Long time no talk! Guess where I've been! You'll never get it. The hospital! Whoo! Hehe. It's true though... I caught some mysterious disease that doesn't have a cure yet but some people snuck into my room at night and injected me with a cure they had recently found and then I went into shock and my entire body felt limp and it was hard to breathe and I felt like I was on fire! O.O' then I closed my eyes and felt some people lift me onto something hard. Now I see they were the people from the hospital lifting me onto a stretcher. Hehe, I didn't know that at the time and I started thrashing around and stuff... but they got me in the ambulance I guess... I wouldn't know. While they were carrying me out I threw up and passed out. I woke up ten days later in a hospital bed and the next day a whole bunch of people came and asked me if it was alright and stuff. A couple days later they helped me get to the car and my parents drove me home. I went straight to bed though because I was still hurting everywhere. I woke up the next day and went downstairs and those same people who had visited me were there and they brought me into the woods behind my house where the rest of them were waiting and showed me something that made me remember something from a very long time ago. It was a locket that showed me in between family from my past. I thoughtit looked familiarand then I felt really weird and started to change. I look kinda different now but I didn't finish transforming so I have to go with one of the people so he can help me change all the way and stuff. Once I do I'll put up a picture because I know you guys think I'm insane now... It will compare the previous me to the new me. I have dog-ears like Inuyasha now! So, here's the part that will really make ya'll think I'm insane: the one's that visited me at the hospital were (get ready for a lot of names) Miroku, Kagome, Hiei, Yukina, Kurama, Kuwabara, Yusuke and Botan! (Ok, so maybe not too many) anyway... Two of the people who I'm pictured between in the locket are Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru.(The othertwo are my real parents.)Inuyasha is sitting behind me right now wondering what I'm doing with this glowing little box and Kurama's in the kitchen. They're going to take me to find Sesshoumaru so I can transform all the way! Yaaaaay! So, I'll tell you how it turns out but I have no idea how long I'll be away. Apparently it's taken Inuyasha over five hundred years to find me again so I've just been dying of the disease and then being reborn over and over again and that mean's I have tons and tons of spirit power so that's why the YYH group came to me also. Inuyasha just misses his little sister. How sweet. I've missed him too! 'glomps Inuyasha for real' hehe. I have to go now. Cya! 'glomps everyone who really cared that I was gone for so long'_

I submitted my entry and opened my email next, sending a short letter to my closest friends saying that I was leaving for a long time and they could go to my site and read today's entry to find out the full story.

I sighed and closed the laptop, standing up and putting the backpack on. "Ok, Inuyasha. I'm ready to go!"

Kurama came from the kitchen and my parents as well. "Won't you... reconsider?" my mother pleaded.

I shook my head causing the locket to swing against my chest. I held it in my fist and said, "I'm really sorry. I've been away so long and I have to go back."

My mom nodded silently and embraced me warmly before I left. My father walked up next. "We missed you in the softball tournament." He said laughing.

"Did... we lose?"

He nodded and I laughed. "I knew they needed me!" I looked away and felt the tears starting to come. I ran forward and hugged my dad, crying. "I'm going to miss everyone here..."

"Want to say goodbye to everyone?" he asked.

"No!" I almost yelled and then looked down again. "It will... just make it harder." I saw him nod quietly and then Kurama opened the door. I ran past him to get outside without looking back, leaving a trail of tears behind as I tried to hide my face. Inuyasha stared after me and thenturned to my parents. "Thank you for taking such good care of my little sister. I can tell this was a very loving family." He said quietly and then ran out the door behind me.

Kurama stared after us both and then turned to my parents, bowed, and walked after us as well. My parents came to stand by the door, looking after us as we disappeared around the corner to the woods behind the house.

When we arrived in the clearing I was immediately surrounded by people wanting to know what had happened to make my cry this much. In between sobs I managed to say, "I'm... leaving... them!" and they all tried to comfort me.

Kurama put a hand on my shoulder and said in a teasing voice, "do you want us to show you our powers so you can know we're not crazy psychos?"

I gave a weak smile and nodded. Inuyasha led me to a tree on the edge of the clearing where he sat me down and plopped beside me, followed by everyone else. Yusuke stepped forward into the clearing first and held out his hand to the sky, his right side facing us. He grasped it with his other hand and took aim. "Shot gun!" he yelled and blue energy erupted from his hand into the sky, destroying the treetops he didn't aim high enough to miss. He laughed and crouched in front of me. "Believe it now?" he asked smiling.

I laughed slightly and nodded. "That was really cool..." I said, staring at the sizzling trees.

"Me next. Me next!" Kuwabara said, standing up. He grinned widely at me and then turned around. "Spirit sword!" he yelled and an orange beam shot out of his hand, reaching high into the sky and then taking the shape of a sword. He grasped the handle and swung at the nearest tree, slicing it neatly in half. "How was that?"

"Very nice!" I said quietly, smiling at how proud he was.

Kurama stood then and pulled a red rose seemingly from beneath his hair. "Rose whip!" he called and a tornado of petals surrounded him. When it cleared he was holding a long thorny vine and he twirled it around himself and then at a tree. It fell to the ground in five equal pieces and he wound the whip up around his hand.

I laughed and said, "that's even cooler in real life. All of them are much, much cooler!"

Kuwabara looked around. "Hey, half-pint hasn't gone yet."

Hiei stepped forward and glared at Kuwabara, causing him to take a step back. "I don't have to prove myself to anyone."

I stood and wiped my face free of tears. "It's alright. I'm convinced enough. Now I would just like to go home for a while."

Botan stepped up. "Home? To where?"

"Back with me," Inuyasha said, taking my hand.

Kurama silenced Botan before she could protest. "This is her brother and she hasn't been home in over five hundred years so she should go back first. That and she also hasn't transformed all the way. If we wait until she does the next part might be a little easier for her to handle. I will go with her and Yusuke and Hiei with both come as well."

Inuyasha reluctantly agreed and we separated from the others and went deeper into the forest.

* * *

"How did you even get here?" I asked Inuyasha. 

"I found your scent. At first I didn't believe it but I had always kept the hope alive that could still be found somewhere. That's why I kept the locket, so of course I followed it. It took days but I finally tracked it to an old empty well. We jumped in and were brought here. I wondered around and caught your scent again and found you at your house, but _they_ were there too... We argued a bit and then decided to send one from each party to help you so neither could try anything."

"That didn't go too well though..." said Miroku coming up behind us and rubbing his still bandaged jaw.

"You need to learn to keep your hands to yourself before I cut them off." Hiei threatened and Miroku fell silent.

After about thirty minutes of walking we came across an old well, half buried in weeds and bushes. Inuyasha grabbed my hand and said, "we all held on to each other last time in case it wouldn't let us all through. So we wouldn't be separated."

I nodded and held out my hand, smiling. "So, who's coming?"

Miroku rushed forward but Sango hit him in the back of the head, causing him to stop. Kurama lightly shoved Hiei and, as he thrashed around for balance, his hand caught mine and I blushed but neither of us let go. Kurama laughed silently and grabbed Hiei's other hand and then Yusuke's. Inuyasha caught Kagome with his empty hand and she grabbed Sango who was forced to take Miroku. Shippou jumped on Miroku's shoulder and Kirara onto Sango's and we prepared to go.

"And how exactly does this work?" asked Yusuke.

"All you do is jump in." Inuyasha muttered. "Miroku, you first."

"What? Why me?"

"Because you're on the end!"

"Oh..." Miroku took a deep breath and then jumped down into the well. Sango was pulled after him, then Kagome, Inuyasha, me, Hiei, Kurama and finally Yusuke. With a few startled yells we were gone and the forest regained its usual sounds. There was no trace of the strange group that had just been there or of the ancient well buried deep in the weeds of the old forgotten forest.

I suppressed a scream as I clung tightly to Inuyasha and Hiei's hands, fearing that if I let go I would be lost again. The entire feel I got from it was very familiar though I still hated the feeling I got from traveling through worlds. The swirling colors of purple and silver whirling around me made me feel slightly sick. Maybe it was thinking of what happened last time but I couldn't help but expect something bad to happen again. As soon as I felt solid ground again I collapsed and started breathing very hard but Inuyasha hauled me to my feet again saying, "they're not going to have room to come through." He then pulled me up and out of the well after him. Hiei jumped nimbly past and Kurama and Yusuke followed close behind.

I blinked in the bright light that awaited us above ground and looked around. "This is... so familiar."

Inuyasha smiled. "Of course it is. This is your home!"

I heard Shippou groan and say, "that time travel stuff really hurts my stomach..." and I glanced over at him. He was lying flat out on his back holding his stomach with both hands. Hiei, Kurama, and Yusuke were standing in a group staring around them and the others were all grouped slightly away from Inuyasha, waiting to see what we'd do next. I looked up at Inuyasha. "Can we find Sesshoumaru now?" I asked quietly.

His face fell a bit but he recovered again right away. "Alright, but I don't know where he is."

"Why not?" I asked

"Why would I keep track of where he is?" Inuyasha yelled.

I looked down. "Then let's start looking for him, ok?"

Inuyasha calmed and nodded as he looked around at everyone else there. "Do you want to stay here or come?"

Hiei stepped forward quickly and said menacingly "well, we're not about to let her go off alone with you! You'll never come back."

Inuyasha grunted. "Fine then. Let's go." He took my arm and pulled me forward, releasing me as I fell in step with him. The others followed, obviously staying divided into two groups. For the entire rest of the day we just kept walking straight forward. We crossed a couple rivers, traveled throughout several forests and went through a few towns but we still kept going. As night fell everyone began to grow tired, including myself so we finally stopped for the night in the shelter of some trees.

I leaned back against a tree trunk and looked up at Inuyasha who was sitting in the branches above. "Do you think we'll find him soon?" I asked quietly to not disturb the others already asleep.

"I don't know. He usually just pops up sometimes. I never know when he'll come." Inuyasha responded slowly.

"Ok," I said sadly and we both grew quiet. I relaxed and was soon asleep, dreaming of finding Sesshoumaru and of what the YYH group had planned for me.

I awoke to find Yusuke poking me in the side. "Hey, wake up. We're leaving now." He said.

I nodded and he backed slightly away. Standing up I noticed that everyone but myself were ready to leave. I pulled my backpack on and found Inuyasha in the crowd. I asked if he had figured out where Sesshoumaru might be yet.

"I told you, I have no idea. We'll just go until I catch scent of him." He responded.

We set off at a quick pace and I fell slightly behind thinking to myself about what I was going to do when I actually found him. I began to think of the story I wrote and of the character I had created, named after myself. She was Inuyasha's sister and she was taken from her bed and everything too, just like what was happening to me, only the Yu Yu Hakusho group wasn't in that story.

I sighed and looked up, jumping as I noticed Kurama now walking with me. He laughed and said, "Do you remember when Hiei first spoke? He said the translators were working?" I nodded and he continued. "Well, we're not wearing the translators anymore. When you transformed you remembered how to speak Japanese, your original language. This is a great help to us because we would have had to teach you ourselves."

"This is all so hard to believe." I whispered.

Kurama nodded. "Yet you're taking it quite well."

"Did you know I wrote a story? It was about a girl and she was taken from her room. She was brought to the woods behind her house where a group of people was waiting for her. There she found out who she really was."

Kurama raised and eyebrow. "And who was she?"

"Inuyasha's little sister." I looked up at him. "I wrote about this a few weeks ago andI even named her Kira. I don't understand. It's all happening basically the same way except she wasn't taken to the hospital with an illness and you guys weren't there."

"Hmmm... I would like to read this story sometime. It might be possible that you kept slight memories from your past life with your family and seeing the show with them all in it was enough to waken them inside you. Then you took what you had and wrote a little story about it. But then again, I have no idea." Kurama smiled at me one last time and went to catch up to the others to tell them about what I just said.

I started thinking about what he said. I was just messing around when I wrote it. I remembered thinking that Inuyasha didn't have a sister so I would give him one in my story. Was... that how story Kira started?

I was aroused from my thoughts with a strangely familiar smell drifting through the air. "Inuyasha!" I called, sniffing the air. He was by my side in a flash. "What... is that smell? I feel like I know it."

Inuyasha sniffed the air. "I don't smell anything." He said grumpily.

"But-" I sniffed again. "It's right there!"

"Your senses are stronger than mine." Inuyasha muttered. "They always have been. So, what do you think it is?"

"I...I think it's him!" my face lit up. "And it's close!" I started walking to my right and the others slowly followed. A fresh breeze hit my face and I smelled it stronger than ever. "Follow me!" I called and began to run in the direction it came from. The others were startled but still tried their best to keep up. It turned out I was a very fast runner and I began to pull ahead of them, my only thoughts of reaching my eldest brother. Ahead of me I saw a thick forest but I didn't stop. Instead I began charging straight through but somehow still not making a sound. I heard Inuyasha call my name from somewhere behind me and stopped for a second. I went to the edge of the forest and scratched an arrow out in the dirt with a claw pointing them in the direction I had gone and continued going deeper into the woods. I froze at the far edge and squatted down, staring out of the forest. The others came to join me a couple minutes later.

"What do you think you're doing?" Inuyasha yelled at me. I responded by pointing a shaky finger at the figure in the clearing in front of us. He had long silver hair and wore all white with a large fluffy thing going under his arm and around his shoulder. He was standing motionless at the base of an enormous cliff and smelled strongly of demon. It was very a very familiar scent.

"That's him right?" I managed to whisper.

Inuyasha nodded. "So why don't you go see him?"

"He won't remember me. I can already tell."

"You never know until you try and if he lays a hand on you I will come out and kill him." Growled Inuyasha, clenching a fist.

I turned and looked at everyone slowly and Kurama smiled back. "Go ahead. We're all right here supporting you." I nodded and stepped out of the forest.

Once in the open I froze for a moment until I felt a hand push me forward. I stumbled for a second before pausing again and straightening. I took a step forward and then another. Slowly Imade my way towards the figure standing alone there without making a sound. I brought a hand to my chest and clutched the locket hanging there as I continued forward. My eye swirled blue as I stared at him hoping against everything that he would remember me straight away.

As I continued quietly closer a wind sprang up and his head jerked. He slowly turned in my direction and I froze, staring back at him. He watched me silently as I stood there and then spoke in a cold voice, "Come here."

I hesitated and then slowly took a step further. Inch by inch I made my way to him and stopped finallyabout ten feet away. "I said come here." He spoke again and I closed the gap between us.

"Why doesn't she do anything?" asked Yusuke, frowning at the sight of me standing with my head bowed in front of him while he slowly looked me over.

"It's been over five hundred years. Give her time." Kurama answered.

"What do you want?" Sesshoumaru said quietly.

I looked up at him slowly and his eyes widened for just a split second. "I want you to remember me..." I whispered.

"What?" he asked. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

I nodded. "Over five hundred years ago! I disappeared and now I've finally found my way back!"

He stared at me for a second and grabbed my hair, letting it fall through his fingers. "I don't know what you're talking about. You don't look anything like her."

"But... it's true!" I cried desperately.

"You're wasting my time. I should kill you right now." He said, pulling his hand away.

"Don't!" I pleaded. "You're wondering why I don't look like her right?" he paused and I continued. "Inuyasha found me and when I remembered him I transformed but I didn't finish. If you believe me I will, I know it!"

"You're crazy. How could that half-breed find you before I could? I'm the one that's been searching."

I blinked. "You, you have? Then, you should believe me easier! He only found me because he has the ability to travel to different worlds. You remember that girl that's with him right? The one who pulled out the Tetsusaiga?"

Sesshoumaru stared at me. "How do you know about that?"

"Because! But that girl, she comes from the future. She came here through a well and that's how Inuyasha found me. He came through a well that led to where I was taken. He tracked my scent and found me!"

"Your scent is not the same as hers."

"That's because I'm not transformed all the way! I... I don't even have my tail!" Tears of frustration were beginning to fall. "You have to help me! I'm not myself! It's strange!"

"What are you holding?" Sesshoumaru asked. This entire time I hadn't let go of the locket. I moved my hand and he took hold of it, feeling it's familiar surface. He slid a claw into the lock and it clicked open. I undid it from around my neck and he took it to peer closer. "Where did you get this?"

"Inuyasha kept it for me. When he found me he gave it back and I haven't taken it off since."

Sesshoumaru started to walk away and I grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?" I screamed.

He turned quickly. "Don't touch me!" I pulled back in fear of his flashing eyes. "You don't look like her! I don't know how you got this but you're not her!"

The tears were flowing freely now and I stared at the ground. "So, you're just going to leave me like this? I thought you cared about me. I thought you had promised to always protect me. What happened to that? Did that promise disappear when I did?"

His eyes flashed brighter and he bared his fangs, grabbing my face in a hand. "Do not speak like you are her! Do not speak like you know of things you don't!"

"Then why don't you just kill me now!" I screamed at him and he pulled back in surprise.

Back in the forest Inuyasha started to sprint for me but Kagome held him back while Kurama did the same for Hiei. "Wait and see!" Kagome said quietly and they both settled back down.

"By refusing to believe you're ruining my life so why don't you go ahead and end it too!" I continued to scream.

Sesshoumaru responded by shoving me back into the base of the cliff. He slammed a hand into the rock beside my head but I remained unaffected as I sat on the ground crying. He stared at me for a second as I pulled my knees to my chest and cried into them. He turned to walk away but stopped at the words heard muffled by my sobs. "I can't believe you. You're just going to leave me like this, incomplete. I thought you loved me. I loved you too! But now, now I hate you. I hate you Sesshoumaru!" I raised my head and yelled the last part at him.

He just stood staring at me. He walked slowly over and kneeled in front of me, grabbing my face in his hand and forcing me to look at him. "Why would I care that you hate me? A pathetic little half demon that I don't even know? I'm done talking to you." He stood up and tossed the locket at me.

I instinctively reached out a hand and caught it. It was still open and I stared at the picture of him and me enclosed in it. "I see." I muttered. "You don't care about me anymore. I should of known you'd stop caring once I left." I sat there at the base of the cliff, my legs pulled to my chest with my arms around them staring blankly forward with the locket grasped tightly in one hand.

Sesshoumaru turned to leave and I felt the tears fall silently down my face. A few rocks hit the ground around me. "My hit unsettled some rocks at the top. If you don't move you'll be crushed." Said Sesshoumaru quietly as he walked away. I just sat there unmoving, still staring blankly in front of me as more rocks hit. Sesshoumaru stopped for a second and then started walking again.

"She's going to be crushed!" Inuyasha yelled as he sprang forward from the trees. Hiei was close behind though off to the side so no one would notice he had left.

Right when they left the forest was when the biggest boulders began to fall. I didn't even notice. I felt the rock wall behind me rumble a but I didn't move. Living wasn't going to be worth it if my own brother wouldn't acknowledge that I existed.

With a huge crash the largest of the rocks hit exactly where I had been sitting. "There's no way she could've survived that!" Yusuke yelled as he sprang to his feet.

Inuyasha froze where he stood, halfway there, his mouth hanging open. Hiei stopped and clenched both fists. A great aura developed around him as he stood glaring around for any signs of movement in the pile of rocks sitting where I had been just moments before.

"Oh no..." Kurama muttered under his breath. "In his rage Hiei will kill everyone here!"

"Whoa! What's Hiei doing?" Yusuke yelled, only just noticing him standing there powering up.

Hiei darted forward to the pile of rocks. He ruthlessly began pulling them away, digging through the rubble searching for any sign of me. As he laid his hands on the largest boulder it began to rumble and he stepped back. Suddenly it burst into millions of tiny little pieces and Hiei shielded his eyes as he peered through the dust drifting throughout the air.

As it began to clear you could make out a shape crouched down with it's back to everyone. Inuyasha looked around after staring at it for a while. "Wait, where's Sesshoumaru?" Sure enough, as the dust began to disappear you could see that the crouching figure was in factSesshoumaru. He was covering something with his body.

Everyone began to walk over to him, even the ones still hiding in the forest. Slowly Sesshoumaru stood and turned around. Inuyasha gasped and ran to him. In his arm Sesshoumaru held my limp form, unconscious from the rocks falling on me.

As the others began to move closer my eyes flickered open and I stared up at Sesshoumaru. He looked back down at me with a slight smile and I smiled back with a little laugh of happiness. Suddenly my body began to glow with a bright white light and my laugh turned into groans of pain as I clutched my arms. Sesshoumaru held me tight as he felt my body pulse and sensed the changing of my blood. A fluffy black tail began forming behind me and my eye swirled grey to match the other, showing that I was in pain. The brown patches in my hair changed black like the rest too. My claws and fangs grew slightly longer and larger and a blue light in the shape of a crescent moon appeared on my forehead leaving a symbol identical to Sesshoumaru's as well as glowing red streaks under my left eye that resulted in more markings similar to his. When I finished my transformation I managed to mumble, "do you really think I'm just a pathetic little half demon?"

Sesshoumaru smiled and shook his head. "No, I see now I was wrong. You're really my pathetic almost full demon little sister." I looked at him and laughed slightly before I passed out in his onearmed embrace. He sat slowly and laid me down so I was leaning against him with my tail in my lap. He gently pried the locket out of my hand and fastened it around my neck before turning to Inuyasha and the others. "Where did you find her? She said you traveled between worlds."

"I followed her scent to a well and jumped in where I followed it to where she's been staying." Inuyasha growled.

"Relax little brother." Sesshoumaru said sarcastically. "I won't fight you with her right here. How has she lasted for over five hundred years and why wasn't she normal?"

When Inuyasha hesitated Kurama stepped forward. "Please if I may," he started and Sesshoumaru nodded so he went on. "She must have fallen through that well you're talking about and that's how she got lost. She fell into the human world and eventually died of an incurable disease. She was then reborn into a human family and once she became around fourteen years of age she again died of the same illness. She repeated this process until we found her and gave her the antidote. Then we brought her here to find you so she could transform all the way back. She was a full human when we first found her."

Sesshoumaru stared at him for a moment. "You expect me to believe all this?"

"It's the truth so you better!" Inuyasha barked at him.

Sesshoumaru grunted and slowly stood, lifting me into his arm again and turned to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Inuyasha yelled, unsheathing the Tetsusaiga.

Sesshoumaru calmly turned and stared at him. "Would you really attack me while I'm holding our little sister?"

Inuyasha growled but let his arm go limp as Kagome came to his side to comfort him.

"Why should we let her go with you?" Everyone turned in surprise and stared at Hiei who had yelled it out.

Sesshoumaru gave a cocky laugh and responded. "I'm going to give her something our father left behind for her. From the way you have taken care of her so far she's going to need it."

"What? He left her something? Why didn't he tell me?" Inuyasha asked.

"Did you honestly think he'd trust you to keep up with something this important?" Sesshoumaru mused and then walked away while Kagome held Inuyasha's arm to keep him from charging. Hiei stood with both fists clenched as he watched me being carried away. He turned to Kurama. "He's not going to bring her back."

"Do you want to follow them?" Kurama whispered and Hiei nodded after making sure no one else was watching them. "Then go quick and don't be seen." Kurama said and Hiei went quickly away.

Yusuke walked over to Kurama with both hands behind his head and a big grin on his face. "Looks like Hiei's got a girlfriend." He said laughing.

Kurama couldn't help but chuckle too. "Yes, it seems that way."

"How do you think she'll react?" Yusuke asked.

"I think she already likes him."

"What?" Yusuke yelled.

Kurama laughed. "You never watched her before everything took place, did you?" Yusuke shook his head. "I thought so. It's very obvious that she at least likes the Hiei that's on that show and he's pretty close to the real thing. The night he went into her room they bonded but he's been too embarrassed with all of us here to continue it. Did you see him digging through those rocks? In the time of desperation he forgot his nervousness and just went for it."

"Wow, you have him pretty figured out Kurama." Said Yusuke laughing.

Kurama laughed too. "It's pretty easy after a while. You're starting to as well."


	3. Nightmares

* * *

Meanwhile Sesshoumaru was traveling ever deeper into the woods, still holding me in his arm with Hiei secretly close behind. He paused for a moment to look around and Hiei ducked behind the nearest tree. Sesshoumaru then continued and Hiei followed slowly, watching as the demon stopped beside a massive tree. It's branches spread across the sky, blocking the sun totally for ten feet in all directions. He stared at it for a while and then set me down leaning against it. He pulled back a hand and slammed his claws into the old tree's bark and pulled his hand away, a large circular chunk of the tree coming with it. Pulling it off he reached deep down inside the tree and pulled out a sword, quickly throwing it to the ground when it was out. He stared at it as he nursed the hand he had held it with. Slowly he looked over at directly where Hiei hid. "You can come out now." Hiei scowled and emerged from the forest into the clearing with us. "Come over here, I have questions." Sesshoumaru commanded and Hiei slowly obeyed. "I can tell you like her. It is fairly obvious. I don't know who you are but you should keep away from my sister." 

"You can't tell me what to do." Hiei muttered.

"When it concerns my little sister's safety then I can. She is staying with me so I can make sure she stays safe."

"And you think she'll just go along with that? We already have plans for her."

Sesshoumaru glared at him. "What kind of plans?"

"She has died over and over and each time her power grew. We've been keeping it for her and she has to come and get it back now. We're also going to train her so she can be in a tournament with us."

My eyes flickered open and I stared over at the two. "What kind of tournament?" I whispered, still tired.

Hiei jumped and looked over at me, glaring. "How much have you heard?"

"Just that bit..." I replied slowly.

Hiei breathed a sigh of relief and explained. "You saw the tournament in that show right?" I nodded. "It's the same this time too."

"Why would you fight in another and you do you need my help?" I asked anxiously.

"They have forced us into it. They want revenge for the last time. You have immense spirit power and now that we know you're a demon too it is even better because you're naturally strong. You won't require as much training."

"How... did they force you into it this time?"

Hiei looked away. "They took Urameshi's girlfriend and the moron's sister."

I jumped to my feet. "Are they ok?"

"For now..."

Sesshoumaru looked from him to me. "See? You're already troubling her with your crazy stories." He walked over to the sword lying on the ground. "Pick it up." He said to me.

"Ummm, ok..." I said and reached down, grasping the handle in one hand and the sheathe in the other as I held it in front of me.

"Good."

"Good?" I repeated.

He looked at me and held out his hand, covered in recent burn marks. "I got these from holding that a moment ago."

I stared at his hand and then up at him. "What?" I cried, making my way towards him to see if he was ok but he shrugged me off.

"The sword is very powerful and to make sure it didn't fall into the wrong hands, father had someone put a curse on it so only it's true owner could hold it. It shocks anyone else."

"So, I'm the true owner?"

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Yes, it was made for you so you could always be protected and so father could always be with you."

"Oh..." I said, turning it over in my hands. It looked just like Inuyasha's sword, the Tetsusaiga with the plain brown sheathe and cloth rapped handle. As I slowly unsheathed it the blade began expanding as it was uncovered. It looked strange, the sword out of the sheathe two or threetimes the size of the sheathe itself. As I pulled it all the way out I held in my hand a giant sword that I could barely lift. "It's... a little heavy." I muttered.

Sesshoumaru nodded. "You were supposed to receive it earlier so you could learn to use it properly. It is a very powerful blade for it holds the powers of both the Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga. It is called the Tetsuseiga. Do you know what those powers are?"

I nodded and he stared at me but refrained from questioning as he watched me examining the blade in my hands. It was brand new looking though I knew it to be over five hundred years old. Not a single scratch or mark marred its perfect surface and edge.

_Good, she has a sword. Now I have a good reason to train her_, Hiei thought as he fingered his own which hung at his side.

I put away the sword and held it in my hands. "I think I should go back now..."

Sesshoumaru looked at me sharply and I stared slowly back. "Or maybe I'll spend one more night here..." I decided.

This time Hiei glared at me and I flinched under his stare. "Relax! I don't even know why you're here but I've been with you guys for a long time. I've hardly been with him! You could go back and tell the others." I flinched again as his glare intensified. "Or maybe you can stay here with us..." I added and he looked away and sat down at the base of a tree. I stared after him and shrugged, turning to Sesshoumaru. "So, how about it?"

Sesshoumaru nodded and took my arm pulling me to the other side of the clearing and sat me down behind some trees so we were out of Hiei's view. "We'll sleep here." He said and sat back against a tree.

I looked at him strangely as I sat by his side. "Okay..."

"Was what they said true?" he muttered. "About you having been in an entire different world, in the future?"

I nodded slowly and looked away, staring around at the woods surrounding us. It was growing dark yet I could still see clearly and I was enjoying testing my new skills.

"That's why I couldn't find you." Sesshoumaru said quietly, staring at me. "You weren't here."

I glanced at him and looked quickly away, pulling my legs to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. I laid my head down and stared straight forward. "I'm sorry..." I whispered, my eyes swirling blue.

Sesshoumaru gently took my face in his hand and made me look at him. "Don't be sad and don't try to hide your emotions. It doesn't work with you." He smiled slightly, indicating my changing eyes. "It's alright. I know it wasn't your fault. You didn't mean to leave for so long, but do you remember how it happened?"

I shook my head. "It's really foggy. I remember the scent of a demon so I know a demon did it. I think I was shoved in the back. I think I fell down something too. There was a strong wind and then I woke up in a very weird place. People were staring at me. They looked really scared. Then..." I paused to think. "A great pain took over my body and I collapsed and went black. I think that was the illness taking over, the first time it killed me." I laid my head on my knees again and stared forward, a tear falling down my cheek.

"Why are you crying now?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly as he wiped it away.

I looked over at him with deep blue eyes. "The way those people looked at me. No one had ever looked at me that way before. It was so horrible. They looked with a mixture of fear and disgust... That must be how Inuyasha felt everyday when he was little."

"That's why you were there." Sesshoumaru replied gently. "You helped him get through it all. Without you he might have given up on life. Your smile helped him get through the day and when you left so did he and I. I think we both set off to find you but it seems he succeeded first. What was that thing you always did to comfort him?" he reached over and gently grabbed my ears. He slowly began to rub them and I melted against his side. He laughed and kept doing it, watching my face as my eyes turned green again.

I sighed. "I never knew it felt this good." I said with a slight laugh. "Sesshoumaru?"

"Hm?"

"If you had seen me in my human form would you have killed me? If I hadn't convinced you earlier would you have done it?" at the end of these words I couldn't stay awake anymore and fell asleep, leaning against him.

He pulled his hands away and stared at my still form. "Yes." He whispered and then leaned against the tree, deep in thought. At his voice my ear twitched and I heard his answer. A single tear slid down my cheek as I fell deeper into sleep. Neither of us knew that Hiei hid just on the other side of the trees, listening in.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to find Sesshoumaru gone. "Sesshoumaru?" I called but he didn't answer. I took the sword up in my arms and went around to Hiei. He was sleeping so I tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He blinked a few times and stared up at me. "Have you seen Sesshoumaru?" I asked. 

He shook his head and stood. "We should go back before he returns." He suggested.

"But-" I began but he interrupted.

"If he didn't want you to leave he wouldn't have left himself." He explained. "It probably had something to do with what you asked him last night."

I looked up at him, startled. "You were listening?"

He nodded and looked away. "Lets go back now." He started walking and I followed close behind. In an hour or so we were back to the clearing at the base of the cliff. As the others saw us approaching they ran out of the trees and greeted us happily admiring the sword I now held, especially Inuyasha. "Why didn'tfather tell me about this..." he muttered.

Kagome clapped him on the back, laughing. "He probably feared you'd use it to destroy."

Inuyasha glared back at her. "Yeah right." He turned to me. "Can I hold it?"

I looked at him uneasily. "I don't know... It will shock you. Sesshoumaru had burn marks all over his hand..."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Aww, come on, I can take it!" He said as he took it from me. A moment later he threw it down with a yelp.

"I told you!" I yelled as I picked it up and brushed off the dirt. "It was made for me and only I can hold it!"

"But... that hurt!" Inuyasha said, whimpering as Kagome bandaged his hands. She tried to stifle a laugh as Inuyasha glared at her.

Miroku slapped him across the back laughing. "It couldn't have been that bad Inuyasha."

He glared at him. "Then now it's your turn. Let's see you hold it!"

Miroku backed slowly away, "I think I'll pass on that one..."

I smiled as I fixed the sword so it hung at my side. I looked around at everyone. "So... What do we do now?"

Kurama spoke up. "I think you should come with us now. Time to get your power and begin training."

I nodded and walked over to him. "How do we get there?"

Kurama looked around. "Well, I guess we'll have to find that well first."

"Wait, where do you think you're going?" said Inuyasha, standing.

"Well, you heard about the power she has that's built up right?" Inuyasha nodded. "We're going back so she can accept it."

"But how do we know you'll be coming back?" Inuyasha complained.

I laughed and replied. "I don't think they'll be able to keep me if I want to come back." Kurama chuckled too and nodded.

"But you won't know where we are when you come!" Inuyasha added.

"Yes I will." I grinned and tapped my nose. "Well, I guess I'm off. Be careful while I'm gone, ok? I know who's after you..."

Inuyasha nodded, growing serious as I walked away. "Bye..." he whispered as I disappeared from sight. He plopped down on the ground and his face fell. Kagome crouched down beside him. "Oh cheer up Inuyasha. She said she'd be back and I know she wasn't kidding."

Inuyasha nodded and stood again. "All right, then let's go!" he started walking straight forward. The others exchanged glances and then slowly followed knowing that Inuyasha had no idea where he was going.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke and me were all walking slowly back to the well we had entered this world through. In about an hour we made it and all stopped. 

"So..." I began, peering down inside. "We just jump through?" I sat down on the edge with my bare feet dangling down inside it and looked down. "Wha-" my body froze and my eyes gained the same golden glow as they did when I had remembered that time spent with Inuyasha so long ago. I slowly fell backwards and felt someone catch me as I almost hit the ground. My eyes were open and staring but I couldn't see what was happening around me. The voices around me slowly drowned out as well.

I felt as if I was still sitting on the well, my feet hanging down inside as I stared into its depths. The sounds of birds singing surrounded me and I felt at peace. Suddenly I heard the padding of footsteps and before I could turn around I felt claws in my back and screamed as I fell forward.

"I'm sorry!" I heard a voice say as a hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. I looked up and saw a face with bright blue eyes staring at me. His black hair fell about his face as he stared at me with sorrow in his eyes. "I didn't mean for you to fall. Hang on and I'll pull you out."

I nodded and felt myself beginning to rise out of the well. When I was halfway out a strong wind sprang up around me and started sucking me back in. "What's happening?" I screamed, looking wildly around and grabbing the boys' wrist tightly. He still held mine but I felt it begin to loosen. "Don't let go!" I yelled, staring up at him.

He grunted. "I'm trying!" I felt myself lower further into the well and he began to fall too. The only thing keeping us from falling were his legs, hooked around the top of the well. The wind grew stronger and whipped his hand from mine. "Come back!" he yelled as I fell screaming down the well. I felt my claws catch something, a vine growing up the sides, but it tore easily away with me. The last thing I saw was the face of the boy as he reached out to me. I reached towards him and then my head hit something. That was the last I remembered.

My ear twitched and I heard voices again, real voices now, not ones from a lost memory. "Why are you hanging around here? That well is cursed!" I heard someone yelling.

"Hey, we're just trying to get home." Yusuke responded.

"Through a well?" I felt someone lift me up. "Are you ok?" It was the boy who had been yelling.

I nodded and my eyes flickered open. I gasped and pushed him away. "It's you!" I screamed.

Kurama helped me to my feet as the boy stared at me. It was the one from my memory! He had the same bright blue eyes though now his hair was pulled back. He definitely had the same scent though, that of a wolf demon. "What are you talking about?" he asked, staring at me.

"What happened?" Kurama added. "You were screaming and telling someone not to let go... You're eyes were open but it seemed you saw nothing."

I nodded, breathing heavily. "I remembered the day I fell!"

The boy stood. "What did you say?"

"It... it was you! You pushed me in the back and then couldn't pull me out again! There was this wind and I couldn't climb out. It started pulling you too so you let me go!" I was in tears now. "You let me fall to save yourself!"

The boy stared at me, his eyes wide and walked slowly over. He took my face gently in his hand and stared, wiping my tears away. "It... it is you!" he said in shock. "I didn't let go! The wind pulled you away from me! I couldn't have let go on purpose, you were holding me too tightly for that!"

"What are you two talking about? Who are you?" Yusuke said, staring at us.

"My name is Kouga." He said quietly and my eyes grew wide. "When I was younger I... I pushed her in the back but then she fell in that well." He pointed to the well beside us. "I grabbed her arm and pulled her almost out but then a strange wind started dragging her back in. We both almost fell but then it's power increased and it pulled her from me. She disappeared and I waited weeks by that well and she never came back. Every now and then I come by to make sure no one else has to go through that." He stared at me. "How did you get back?"

I stood in shock for a second and then recovered. "My... my brother came through and found me."

"And he was able to get back again?" I nodded. "Then why couldn't you?"

I looked down. "I died right after I reached the other side and lost all memories of being here at all."

Kouga stared at me. "Then how are you...?"

"I don't know... Something happened and I got this disease and every time I died from it I would be reborn into a different human family." I said slowly.

"How is that possible?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure." I responded quietly.

"But... you're not leaving again are you?"

"I have to for a while but I'll come back shortly to visit."

"Who is your brother? Is he a wolf demon like you?"

I shook my head and looked at him. "I think you know him..."

His face lit up. "Good! Then I can stay with him until you return so I won't miss you."

"That might not work..." I muttered.

"Why not?"

"...My brother is... Inuyasha."

Kouga fell back a few steps and looked around. "What? Where is he?"

I sighed. "He's not here right now but he's going to be really mad if he finds out you did it..."

"Heh, that mutt face can't beat me." Kouga said confidently.

"You'd be surprised." I muttered. "He's learned some new tricks with his sword."

"Ha! You can't teach an old dog new tricks."

"Awww, don't be so mean towards him..."

Kouga looked into my deep blue eyes and immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry..." he muttered.

"It's ok..." I said quietly then turned back to the well and the others. "I have to go now but I'll see you when I get back, alright?" I said to Kouga, smiling as my eyes swirled green again.

"Uh, ok..." he said, smiling back. _That smile is contagious_, He thought as he watched us link hands. Yusuke jumped into the well first, followed by Kurama and Hiei. I waved as I was pulled after them and jumped as Kouga fell forward on his face. Sesshoumaru caught my waving hand, having jumped off Kouga's head and was sucked through with us. Kouga pulled himself to his knees, rubbing his head. "What was that?"

I emerged from the well screaming at my brother. "What was that for?"

"I heard you talking. He was the one who caused you to leave. You're lucky that I had to hurry to catch you or he would be dead."

The other three stood staring at us as we fought.

"But, he didn't mean too!"

"How could he not mean to? How can you even be sure?"

"I could tell from his eyes, he wasn't lying." I muttered. Sesshoumaru then grew silent, knowing I was speaking the truth, and looked around. "Where are we?" he asked.

"We're in America!" I said. "This is where I spent the last five hundred years."

"Where are we going?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"To Japan." Kurama said.

"How are we getting there?" I asked.

"With this." Yusuke said holding up a watch.

"That?" I said staring at it.

"Yep. There's this little button that will take us to wherever we want to go. For now it's spirit world." Yusuke explained as he strapped it on his wrist. "All you have to do is make direct contact with the one wearing it and you'll be transported with us."

"So... we're going now?" I asked.

"Sure. There's no one around to see..." Yusuke answered, peering around the surrounding forest.

Kurama laid a hand on Yusuke's shoulder and Hiei reluctantly set one on his wrist near the watch. I slowly placed mine on his arm and Sesshoumaru just stood there glaring at us. "Are... you not coming?" I asked.

"You can't be serious." He muttered.

"Then you can jump back through the well and run home." Yusuke said.

With a growl Sesshoumaru set his hand on mine. "You have to directly touch him." Kurama said. Slowly Sesshoumaru slid his hand half off mine so he was touching Yusuke's arm.

Yusuke grinned. "Ok, here we go!" he pressed the button and we were enveloped in a wave of light. A strong wind sprang up and I felt my feet leave the ground.

"Nobody let go or you could be lost along the way." Kurama shouted above the howl of the wind and I wrapped both of my arms around Yusuke's for fear of falling. I looked down and saw patches of green and blue flying under us. I shut my eyes and refused to open them.

A few moments later my feet suddenly hit ground again and I staggered back. Sesshoumaru caught me before I fell and I looked around, still grasping Yusuke's arm.

"Uh, you can let go now." He said quietly. I quickly released him, blushing and backed slightly away.

Suddenly a huge pair of doors burst open and light poured through. The black outline of a person appeared right in the middle and I shielded my eyes as I peered through my fingers at it. "Welcome to spirit world!" the figure yelled happily as he stepped forward. He was tall, seeming to be about my age and he had short brown hair. The only odd thing was that he held a pacifier in his mouth and the word "Jr" on his forehead.

I blinked a few times and stared. Botan and Kuwabara came out of a smaller side door and walked over to us. The figure in the light came over to us as well and took my hand. "So, you must be Kira." I nodded and blushed greatly as he somehow managed to kiss my hand with his mouth full. "I am the great Koenma, ruler of the spirit world." He released me and turned. "Follow me."

Botan came up and whispered in my ear. "Don't worry. He always gets really cocky in that form."

Koenma turned around and glared at her. "What was that?"

"Oh nothing!" Botan cried, waving her hands in front of her face.

We continued through the doors from which he had emerged and Botan fell in step with Yusuke. She pointed at Sesshoumaru who was walking by my side. "Who's that?"

"It's her eldest brother." Yusuke answered.

"But... what's he doing here?" Botan asked.

"He grabbed Kira's arm as we were entering the well so he was transported with us. After that he refused to leave and we had to bring him with us."

"Why didn't you just force him down the well?" Kuwabara asked.

"I'd like to see you try!" Yusuke said, staring at Sesshoumaru. "He doesn't have much spirit power but he is a very powerful, experienced demon."

Kuwabara stared at him too. "Yeah... I guess."

We followed Koenma into a room lined with file cabinets. He walked over to one and stopped right in front of it. "Ogre!" he called and a blue thing with horns and shoulder length hair ran to his side.

"Yes sir?" it said.

"The key please." Koenma held out his hand as the ogre looked through a massive ring of keys until he found the right one. He removed it and placed it in Koenma's hand, then stepped back to watch.

Koenma held up the key and inserted it into the lock of the file cabinet. He slowly turned it and then tossed it back to the ogre who fumbled to catch it. Koenma sighed. "It's so hard to find good help these days..." he muttered and then slowly slid open the drawer. I stood on my toes to try to see in but I couldn't. The drawer was so deep Koenma leaned the entire top half of his body into it and still could barely reach the bottom. When he came back up he turned to me. "This, I believe is yours."

I stared wide-eyed at the thing he held. It was an enormous ball of neon green light, about the same size as a basketball. "What... is that?" I asked as I watched several sparks fly off.

Yusuke shielded his eyes. "You expect her to handle that? Mine was like a softball and I came very close to dying with it!"

"...What?" I questioned staring from Yusuke to Koenma.

"This isn't even all of it." Koenma added. "We lost a lot during the journey of it from America to here. But Yusuke, she's a lot stronger than you!"

"No I'm not!" I yelled, growing afraid. "I've never done a real fight in my life!"

Koenma held back a laugh. "You don't know that. I also see that you are a demon. Botan filled me in. Demon's have lots of natural strength."

"But I'm not a full demon!" I exclaimed and everyone stared at me. I looked down, my face growing hot. "It's true... My mother wasn't quiet a full demon so neither am I, even though my father was."

Botan looked from me to Sesshoumaru. "Does that mean he's not full either?"

"I am full." Sesshoumaru answered indignantly. "Our mother's were different. That's why she's more of a wolf while Inuyasha and I are not."

Everyone was silent for a while asthey processed this new information. Then Koenma stepped closer to me with the energy ball held out. "We need to take care of this."

"No!" I yelled and ducked behind Sesshoumaru. "I don't want to die again..."

Kurama looked at my eyes, swirling blue, and walked up to Koenma. "We should give her time. She's been through a lot lately and we need to train her some before she does this. For now it's growing late and we should all have a good night's rest." Everyone agreed and we went out of the room while Koenma replaced the ball in the cabinet, muttering the whole time. I glanced back at him and then continued forward, clutching Sesshoumaru's empty sleeve for comfort.

"Yusuke, should we go to your house?" Kurama suggested and he nodded, setting the destination on his watch.

"We'll be back tomorrow maybe!"Yusuke called to Koenma as everyone grabbed onto him. This time we made room for Botan and Kuwabara as well. Yusuke pressed the button and we heard Koenma yell "You better!" as we left. I felt my feet lift off the ground and grabbed tightly to the closest one to me with my eyes shut again. When we hit ground I looked at who I had clung to and my face grew bright red. "I'm sorry..." I muttered.

Hiei stared back at me. "What's your problem?"

"I... I'm scared of heights." I muttered.

Kuwabara burst out laughing but stopped abruptly as Sesshoumaru glared at him, coming to my side. He glared at Hiei too and then spoke. "Are you shrinking?" He asked me.

"What?" I asked, staring at him.

Yusuke laughed, pointing. "Yeah! She's the same height as Hiei now!"

Hiei and I exchanged glances and I realized that I now looked straight into his eyes instead of down. "I don't understand..."

"Aww! That's so cute!" Botan exclaimed and everyone stared at her. "She adjusted her height for the one she was holding onto!"

"But how do I change back...?"

Sesshoumaru leaned over and embraced me. I slowly felt myself change and when he let go I was five foot five inches like usual. I laughed nervously.

Then Yusuke led the way into his house. His mom happily greeted us. "Oh, Yusuke, you've brought a lot of people this time!" She looked around. "So... Keiko's still not back?"

Yusuke looked down. "No."

"Where did you say she was?"

"On vacation."

"Oh..." her eyes fell on me and Sesshoumaru. "I've never seen you two before!"

I nodded and tried to keep from wrinkling my nose. She smelled strongly of alcohol and smoke. "Umm... I'm Kira and this is Sesshoumaru." I suddenly froze, thinking of what might happen when she saw my wolf ears and tail but she was too out of it to notice.

"Are you two together?"

"He's my brother!"

"Oh." She smiled. "Well, welcome to our home! Yusuke dear, I'm going out for a while. You'll be fine won't you?" Before he could respond she was already out the door. Yusuke shrugged and turned to everyone. "You guys can sleep where you usually do." He went to a closet and pulled out a pillow and some blankets." He handed them to me and pointed to the next room. "You and your brother can sleep in there."

I nodded and entered the room. It held a TV and a couch and that was about it. I set the blankets down against the wall and laid the pillow at the head. Sitting down I turned to Sesshoumaru. "Where will you sleep?"

He sat down by the foot of my make shift bed and leaned against the wall. "Right here."

I nodded and rubbed my eyes, suddenly growing very tired. Lying down I was asleep within minutes. Sesshoumaru looked over at me and closed his eyes. Soon he was out too.

My dreams were troubled and many, filled with images of Inuyasha and the others being attacked and injured. After those were done I dreamed of the glowing ball of energy that was supposedly mine. In the dream it went inside of me and I fell to the ground, burning all over and gasping for air.

I woke up with a start in a cold sweat and stared straight ahead. A face was staring down at me and I opened my mouth to scream but a hand clamped over it. I stopped and he removed his hand so I could sit up. It was Hiei. He placed a finger over his lips and grabbed my arm, pulling me after him and through the doors to outside. He leapt nimbly onto the roof and I jumped clumsily after him. He sat down on the edge with his legs hanging down while I moved to the center. He looked over at me and slowly stood to join me. "Why are you staying away from the edge?"

"We're up high..." I whimpered, looking around.

"You need to get over that."

"I can't..."

Hiei shrugged. "What were you dreaming about? I heard your moaning and came inside..."

I blushed and looked down. "My brother and his friends were in trouble. Then I dreamed that the ball had gone inside me. It hurt so bad... even in a dream!"

He nodded. "Yusuke had a hard time with it but then realized that if he died his spirit beast would too. That gave him the strength to go on, knowing others would be in danger if he left."

"But I'm not that strong. I won't be able to take it! Mine... the feeling it gave off made me shiver."

"Yours is very powerful but so are you, you just have to realize it. We're going to help you do that."

I looked at him. "Really?"

He nodded, staring back. "Starting now!" he shoved me with both hands as hard as he could and with a yelp, I went tumbling down the roof. I kept going right off the edge but managed to turn myself around before I hit the ground so I landed on my feet in a crouching position. He jumped down and landed beside me clamping a hand over my mouth before I could yell and wake the others. He led me away with his hand still covering it and finally released me when we were a good deal away.

"What's your problem?" I screamed at him.

"We have to start somewhere. Now I know you have enough skill to land on your feet, even when caught totally off guard. You need to always keep up your defenses, you never know when something might happen." I attempted a slap and he caught my wrist right in front of his face. "Like that. I didn't expect someone of your nature to do that but I was still ready for it."

He released my arm and I stepped back. "I was trying to catch you off guard, prove you wrong." I muttered, my face turning red.

"And it was a nice try. You would've gotten anyone else. That's it. You can go back inside now."

I stared at him for a moment and then said, "You're different than from the show." I walked away leaving him to think that over. I entered the room silently and got back in my make shift bed and fell asleep again. I was visited with the same dreams but I contained them better this time, not letting myself become overcome with them and eventually they vanished, allowing me to sleep peacefully the rest of the night.

Hiei however remained outside wondering if what I had said was a good or a bad thing.


	4. Powers Obtained and Back to the Past

* * *

I woke up the next morning and sat up, attempting to rub my eyes. Instead I found out that while I slept I had somehow gotten my claws on both my hands and feet wrapped up in the sheets. I looked over to find Sesshoumaru watching me with an amused look on his face as I struggled with them. "Help me!" I cried and he crawled over to my side. 

He took my hands and feet and carefully pried my claws out of the material. "Thanks," I muttered, face turning red, as I gathered them in my arms and left the room. The others were all waiting around for me. "Why didn't you get me up?" I asked.

"We wanted you to be well rested for today." Kurama said. "Did you sleep well?"

"Kinda." I glanced at Hiei. "I had many nightmares." I felt my face turning red again at how childish I must've sounded.

Yusuke took the sheets from me. "What about?"

"Uhhh..." I looked down. "Inuyasha and the others were in trouble at first and then... I dreamed of that ball of light."

"I don't blame you." Said Yusuke, nodding. "Wait... what did you do?" He was holding up the sheets which were now full of holes."

I felt my face turning bright red again. "I haven't gotten used to these claws yet..." I muttered.

"Well, I guess it's all right." Yusuke said and put the sheets back in the closet. "Let's go outside and figure out what to do next."

Everyone agreed and left the room. As I began to follow Sesshoumaru reached out and grabbed my arm, forcing me to turn and face him.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him.

"What would you like me to call you?"

"Like... for my name?" I asked. He nodded. "Kira, if that's alright..." I said quietly.

"Kira..." He nodded his approval and went with me outside to where the others waited.

"Ok," Kurama said when he saw me. "We need to test your basics. To find out how much training you will need."

I looked up at him. "How?"

"First we need someone for you to fight. Then we watch and see how it goes."

"Just... like that?" I asked and he nodded. "What if someone gets hurt?"

Botan popped up laughing. "You're so sweet! That's why Yukina showed up this morning!" she said, bringing Yukina forward.

"Oh..." I said, watching as Hiei backed slightly away.

Kurama looked around. "Who's going to be first?"

Yusuke stepped forward grinning and popping his knuckles. "I'll volunteer." He said.

"This isn't a real fight." Kurama scolded. "You're just testing her limits, that's all." Yusuke nodded and then Kurama gently nudged me forward and I stood, watching Yusuke nervously.

"Don't be so tense!" Yusuke kidded.

I looked back at him and nodded slowly, trying to relax as my eyes swirled many different colors, never resting on one for very long, showing how nervous I was. Sesshoumaru stepped forward to make it stop but Hiei held him back. "Nothing will happen to her, we're just seeing how much training will be needed." He muttered and Sesshoumaru stopped.

I looked back at everyone as they backed away to give us more space. Kurama gave me a reassuring smile and I turned back to Yusuke. "You ready?" he asked.

I swallowed and nodded, knowing in my mind I wasn't at all ready. Suddenly Yusuke leapt at me and with a startled cry I jumped to the side, dodging it barely. He nodded. "Your reflexes are pretty good. Get ready and try to hit back this time." I nodded and watched him carefully. He charged again and I spun to the side, swiping at him but just before I hit he turned and caught my hand. He then rammed his other into my stomach, stopping before making contact. He laughed as I stared at him in shock. "Not fast enough." He sprang away and stood at the ready again.

My ears twitched and I glanced to the others. "We have a lot of work to do..." I heard Kurama say and I glared at him. He didn't notice though and I turned back to Yusuke, determined to land at least one hit before we ended. My eyes turned red, not glowing, just the normally green parts were nowred like Hiei's as I watched Yusuke again.

He charged at me and jumped to the side at the last moment, punching into my side. I jumped to the right and felt his hand brush my shirt but that was it. He looked at me. "Not bad, for a girl."

"What?" I yelled, and my eyes flashed once before turning red again. He stepped back slightly at the sudden change in my attitude but quickly recovered. He ran straight at me and instead of jumping away I stood where I was. He threw a punch at my stomach and I caught it. I heard another whistle coming towards my head and snatched it too. Yusuke looked surprised for a moment and then grinned. He brought back a foot to kick me but I kicked his leg before he could. We sprang apart again and he laughed, rubbing his leg. "Getting better. Was it something I said?"

"Shut up!" I growled through my teeth. I ran at him this time and he jumped to the side right into my outstretched leg and fell forward. I pressed two clawed hands into his back, forcing him down all the way and kept them there so he couldn't get back up. "Do I win?" I muttered. His hand shot out to grab my foot and I stepped on it. "You're not in a position to be doing things like that." I said menacingly and pressed my hands down slightly harder. I heard him swallow nervously and turned to Kurama. "Are we done?"

He stared at me for a second to take in the sight of me crouching with Yusuke pinned. He nodded and then laughed. "Yes, very good."

Kuwabara burst out laughing and pointed at Yusuke. "Ha ha Urameshi! She beat you! I think you're the one who needs the extra training!"

"Shut it Kuwabara." Yusuke muttered from under me and I removed my hands. He got up on his knees and I lent him a hand, grinning as my eyes swirled green again, and helped him up. "Maybe you won't be so cocky next time. And cool it with the comments ok?" I said.

He smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind." He leaned down to me and whispered. "Did you actually scratch me? I felt the claws but I couldn't tell if they pierced anything."

I had him turn around and I looked at his back. "No, there's nothing there, not even holes in the shirt. I didn't want to hurt anyone..." I muttered.

"Well, you'll have to change that attitude once we're in the tournament." He advised and I nodded as we rejoined the others.

They warmly greeted me and a lot of teases were directed at Yusuke who accepted it fairly well. I grinned and blushed at every compliment I got. After everyone calmed down Kurama spoke again. "Well, we know you can take care of yourself fairly well, but Yusuke has had a large break from missions. He hasn't fought in a while. Your speed is very good. Yusuke is very fast yet you could pretty easily keep up. We'll have to test its lengths later. I guess your brothers can help you learn to fight with your claws and Hiei will train you in sword use. Since he volunteered first Yusuke gets to work with your hand-to-hand fighting and Kuwabara and I will help you learn to control your spirit energy once you get the rest of it. You have a little right now that we could work with as a start."

I nodded. "Umm... When do we start it all?"

"We just did." Yusuke said. "Do you want to go a few more rounds? I'll tell you what to do in some situations and stuff."

"That's good. We'll wait inside and you two can practice. Later we'll have a snack and then continue with something else."

Everyone agreed with Kurama's suggestionand entered the house, even Sesshoumaru, leaving Yusuke and me outside. "Get ready." Yusuke said. I nodded and kind of just stood there. "What are you doing?"

I looked at him. "What do you mean?"

He shook his head. "How you're standing. You don't look ready at all. How did you block me like that?"

I shrugged. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You have to be on guard, leaving no openings. You never know what tricks the people in these things might pull." Yusuke then instructed me on how to stand at the ready, yet somehow I still managed to look totally off guard. He tested my stance several times but could never get a decent hit without being blocked at least slightly or having me dodge. He laughed and shook his head. "I guess that's ok. They'll attack and you'll knock them flat before they even knew that you were ready for them! At least the lesser demons... All right, now come at me!"

We continued on in this way for several more hours before someone came out, finally making us stop. We staggered inside, both tired from our work and sat down. Botan laughed and gave us each a drink. "Looks like you two have accomplished a lot! We were watching."

Yusuke grinned. "She was already pretty good but she's improved a lot more now."

"Good." Kurama said. "Are either of you hungry? You've missed lunch." Yusuke nodded but I shook my head. "Are you not feeling well?" Kurama asked me.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just not that hungry right now." I answered.

"She won't need to eat everyday anymore." Sesshoumaru said. "She's not a pathetic human so she doesn't need constant food to stay healthy and I don't eat human foods."

"But," I added. "I'm not a full demonso I do need to eat every now and then, just not right now and I do eat human foods." So I sat and watched as Yusuke had his meal.

Kurama looked around and stopped, glancing at Sesshoumaru. "Sesshoumaru, wasn't it?" he asked.

Sesshoumaru looked at him and slightly nodded so Kurama continued. "Do you want to go out and practice with her for a while?"

He didn't respond but instead grasped my arm and pulled me outside after him. Once outside he asked me, "why are you going through with this nonsense?"

"Because they need my help!" I answered. "Plus, don't you want me to be able to protect myself? Especially when I'm with Inuyasha. They're teaching me how to do so and now it's your turn."

Sesshoumaru nodded and looked away. After a moments thought he turned back to me. "Did that boy teach you how to punch?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but it hurt a little because my claws are too long."

"Here." Sesshoumaru took my hand and balled it up in a way so my nails didn't stab into my palm. "That's how you do it unless you want to scratch your opponent. I suppose it's good to know both though." I nodded and he continued. "If you face someone running at you they might jump away if you swing at them. If they do feel free to just swipe at them with you fingers extended. You'll probably catch hold of something. Be it flesh or cloth I don't know but either one will scare them. That boy was terrified when he felt your claws in his back. I could smell his fear."

I nodded. "I heard him swallow hard too."

Sesshoumaru continued. "But this attack is very easy to do. You just tense your fingers slightly and swipe at something." He picked up a pinecone. "I'm going to throw this at you and you have to cut it to pieces before it hits."

I nodded and backed up a step. He brought back his hand and threw the pinecone at me. I dived out of the way.

"What are you doing?" Sesshoumaru asked, staring down at me.

"I didn't know you were throwing it that hard!"

"Well, if I go easy on you you'll never learn." He replied. "Now get up and prepare yourself."

I stood slowly and took my strange stance while watching him closely. He calmly brought back his hand and then suddenly threw it forward. I threw my hand forward and five pieces of pinecone landed at my feet. I laughed happily. "Look! I did it!" I yelped as another one came shooting past my head.

"You should always be on you guard." Sesshoumaru said with an amused smile. He continued throwing various objects at me, sometimes even rocks or branches, for a few more hours before we headed back inside. I had several new bruises and bumps but Sesshoumaru said they would be gone by morning so I didn't worry about it.

Everyone except for Sesshoumaru and I had a quick dinner and then we all turned in for the night. I awoke several times again in a cold sweat during the night. The dreams were growing worse, this time containing images of Inuyasha and the others badly injured. They were calling my name, needing help but as I ran towards them they would fade into the distance. The last image I saw was of Inuyasha in his human form badly wounded with his hand weakly outstretched. "Help..." he muttered, coughing up blood and I snapped out of me sleep in a cold sweat with tears running down my face. I sat up and leaned against the wall, jumping as something touched my shoulder.

"Are you ok?" It was Hiei again.

I looked at him with deep blue eyes and a tear stained face, shaking my head. "Come on." He whispered, taking my arm and pulling me outside again. This time we didn't head for the roof and for this I was grateful. Instead we just went away from the house so no one would hear us and sat down, side by side. I wiped away my tears as best as I could and sat there quietly, staring into the darkness.

Meanwhile, Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara and Botan were gathered inside the house, sitting around the kitchen table when Sesshoumaru suddenly burst into the room. "Where did she go? What did you do to her?" he shouted.

"Calm down." Yusuke muttered. "She was having nightmares so Hiei came to comfort her." Yusuke ignored Kuwabara's shocked face. "They're right outside."

Sesshoumaru glared at him for a moment and then spoke. "The short one?"

Kuwabara burst out laughing. "Yeah, that's him!"

Kurama shot out an arm to keep Sesshoumaru from leaving. "Don't worry. He won't try anything. He's much too nervous. He just felt bad hearing her crying and groaning in her sleep so he felt he must do something."

Sesshoumaru knocked his arm away and glared at him. "I didn't hear her..." he muttered.

"You were sleeping. When's the last time you've slept peacefully? You would've sensed if she was in real trouble. You just happened to wake up and she wasn't there so you freaked out." Kurama explained.

Outside, Hiei and I were still sitting there quietly and not looking at each other. I felt my face grow hot but ignored it, staring into the darkness surrounding me. My scream suddenly filled the air and I fell backwards causing Hiei to leap to my side.

"What's wrong?" he yelled.

I lifted a shaky finger, pointing straight ahead. "I saw him, I saw him!"

"Who?"

"Inuyasha! He was dying! And the others too!" I threw my face into my hands and sat there sobbing into them. Hiei hovered over me, unsure of what to do. Tentatively he placed and hand on my back and very lightly rubbed it. It was so soft I almost couldn't feel his hand there at all but when I realized it I lifted my head and looked over at him, my face red and tearstained. "He's in trouble." I whimpered.

"It's ok... he'll be fine!" Hiei attempted to speak to me in a soothing voice. "Let's go back inside and talk to the others in the morning."

I nodded, too afraid for Inuyasha to speak and staggered to my feet, my eyes still a very deep ocean blue and leaking tears. He walked slightly in front of me, attempting to hide his red face but it didn't work.

We reached the silent, dark house and peered into the room where I slept. Sesshoumaru was leaning against the wall at the foot of my bed, his head lolling against his chest. We went silently to my make shift bed. I sat down on it and he sat in front of me, checking for the last time if I would be ok for the rest of the night. I nodded and looked at him. "Thank you..." I whispered.

He turned away as his face went red and nodded before quickly leaving the room. I looked around and instead of lying down to sleep, I stayed sitting and pulled the covers around myself so only my face was showing. I leaned back against the wall and didn't move for several minutes.

"Why were you with him?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin and barely stopped the scream that threatened to escape. "Don't do that!" I yelled in a whisper, turning to Sesshoumaru. He was wide-awake staring at me now, his golden eyes gleaming in the dark. "He was comforting me..." I muttered in response.

"What were you dreaming about?"

I looked away. "Inuyasha and the others, but mainly Inuyasha." I looked back at him with tears filling my eyes. "Sesshoumaru, he was dying! He was in his human form and he was so badly hurt..." My voice trailed off as the picture came back to me. I closed my eyes tight and grasped both sides of my head. I felt an arm go around me but didn't move.

"He's ok." Sesshoumaru assured me. "If he was in trouble I'd be able to sense it as well. I may hate him but he is my brother." Sesshoumaru removed his arm and stared at me. "Now go back to sleep. They're going to make you train hard tomorrow."

"I can't..." The image of Inuyasha coughing up blood repeated over and over in my mind and I couldn't make it stop! Sesshoumaru moved beside me on the blankets and gently took hold of my ears. Slowly his fingers began to move around and I felt myself relax. My eyes gently swayed green again and I sank back against the wall. "No fair..." I sighed. He kept doing it and I felt my eyes begin to close. I slowly fell to my side and went into a peaceful sleep. Sesshoumaru gently moved me so my head was on the pillow and then lifted the blanket on top of me before moving back to his place at the foot of my bed and falling asleep himself. Hiei crouched quietly on the couch, watching his every move and when all went still he slipped silently out, unnoticed.

The next morning I was awaked with a nudge from Yusuke. "Time to get up. We have a visitor."

I woke up yawning and rubbing my eyes. "A visitor?"

He nodded and pulled me outside. I jumped in surprise at who was standing there. "Koenma?"

He nodded and grinned, again in his teenage form. "I have come to ask how you're doing and how your training's going."

"Um... it's going fine I think." I said nervously.

"Koenma," Kurama said stepping forward. "I have a request."

Koenma raised an eyebrow. "And what might that be?"

"Kira has been having nightmares. They all consist of the same thing, her other brother and is friends in trouble. Would it be alright if she could go visit him to make sure he's ok?"

My face lit up as I looked gratefully at Kurama but it quickly fell when I heard Koenma. "No."

"But, why not?" I cried desperately.

He crossed his arms, trying to look very thoughtful. "I don't want you to run away and refuse to come back. I saw how scared you were of the energy I showed you."

"I wasn't scared..." I muttered.

"Oh no? Then come over right now and absorb it. Then you can go see your brother."

"She's not ready yet!" Yusuke yelled. "It's her brother! She hasn't seen him in forever and now you're doing this?"

Koenma looked away. "I understand her situation but ours is very important as well. We actually are here and obviously real and serious. You can't take her dreams seriously, can you?"

"She could be seeing the future slightly." Everyone stopped to stare at Kurama who then continued. "She has a strong connection to her brother and she's already done it once. She wrote a story about how a girl was found by Inuyasha and brought back to his world. In her story the girl was his long lost sister. I haven't read it yet but she told me about it. It sounded as if the only real difference was that we weren't there."

"My condition stands." Koenma said finally.

In the arguments that followed no one noticed me fall the ground with my hands clamped over my head. A terrified scream erupted from my mouth and I saw everyone stare at me in shock before I lost consciousness.

I woke up inside, on a couch with everyone staring down at me. "She's awake!" Botan called happily.

"What... happened?" I asked, sitting up slowly.

"You screamed and passed out." Koenma said calmly.

I closed my eyes for a second, trying to recall what I had been thinking of. Suddenly they snapped open and I yelled out, "Inuyasha really is in trouble! I see him now too, not just in dreams, but when I'm really standing outside too!" My eyes swirled blue as I looked around at everyone. "I need to go see him!"

"Then take your energy back." Koenma said.

I stared at him in shocked. "I can't believe you! You're so selfish! My brother is in trouble, I can feel it!" My eyes flashed red and Koenma staggered backwards. My eyes widened in realization. "Is tonight the new moon?" I screamed.

Kurama nodded and I leapt to my feet, running to Yusuke and shaking his arm. "In my dreams Inuyasha was in his human form! Tonight he will change! We have to get there before then! Do you have your watch?" I screamed hysterically.

"K-Koenma took it back." Yusuke stuttered in surprise and I released him.

"Koenma please!" I begged. I looked at him closely with tear filled eyes and realized he wasn't about to change his mind. I hung my head in defeat. "I'll do it now."

He staggered back in surprise. "I thought you were going to kill me! Alright then, anyone coming take hold of me." He said as he strapped a watch to his wrist and set the destination.

I grabbed his arm tightly and then Sesshoumaru did followed by Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, Botan and Yukina. "Ready... Go!" Koenma yelled and I felt my feet rise. Hiei stared at me waiting for me to grab someone but I never did, my face set with grim determination.

We landed in the room full of all the file cabinets and I ran to where I remembered it was. "Open it!" I nearly screamed and an ogre seemed to appear out of nowhere to obey.

Koenma walked up angrily. "Hey! You're supposed to listen to me!" He snatched away the key and began to open it.

"I'm sorry sir, she's just so scary!" The ogre muttered before backing away.

Koenma tossed the key back to the ogre and reached deep into the drawer. He emerged with the glowing green ball and I took a step back. "Let's go to a different room. Can't have you destroying this one..." He suggested and I impatiently followed. Yusuke nodded at the memory of tearing the cave apart to help handle the pain of when he did it and followed.

We emerged through another door into a brightly lit and very large room with grass and even trees growing around in strategically placed spots. "This is where we stop." Koenma said, turning to me. "Are you ready?"

I stepped nervously from behind Sesshoumaru and nodded. He caught my wrist and pulled me back. "If this kills you then I will kill everyone here. Remember that." I nodded slowly and stepped up to Koenma.

He released the neon ball of light and it hovered in the air for a second. Suddenly it charged forward and slammed into my chest, forcing it's way inside of me. Everyone leapt out of my way as I staggered back into a wall, clawing at the air and holding back screams.

"This isn't good." Yusuke muttered.

"What do you mean?" Sesshoumaru asked, staring sharply at him.

Yusuke turned to him. "When I went through this my energy ball was about the size of a softball while hers is several times larger. I felt a delayed reaction before the pain began but hers isn't even in yet and it's already hurting her!" He finished and turned to watch me again.

Cracks were appearing in the stone wall behind me as the light continued forcing it's way inside. I clawed at it but nothing happened so instead I laid my hands upon its surface and started pushing it in, helping it on its way. My eyes began to water and I shut them tight as I continued. The others watched in stunned silence as I tried to take it with pointed teeth clenched tight.

"It's in!" Kuwabara yelled in shock and it was true. There was no sign of the ball as I stood there breathing heavily with both hands clenched and my eyes still shut tightly. Suddenly I fell forward and a huge wave of green light shot out from around me. Kuwabara jumped in front of Yukina and Yusuke in front of Botan as everyone shielded their faces.

"This isn't safe." Koenma muttered from his back. He had been knocked flat from the force. "Everyone, get behind me." He said as a shield appeared around him and all near. Sesshoumaru stood where he was, staring at me helplessly and I staggered back to my feet and fell to my knees again as a bolt of green light shot out and hit a tree beside him. He liftedhis arm to shield his face from the flying pieces of bark and wood that flew everywhere.

I stared at him, and he took a step back as he saw my face. My entire eyes were glowing bright green from all the energy built up inside me. "Get... behind... him!" I panted, struggling for breath. He stared at me for a moment more and then obeyed.

I staggered to my feet and leaned against the nearest tree, gripping it as hard as I could. The trunk crumpled like paper under my hands and I ground my teeth to keep from screaming. I couldn't take it anymore. With a tremendous scream I let all my anger and sadness and pain erupt from myself as I lunged forward and hit the tree as hard as I could. It shattered and chunks of it flew off in all directions as I fell forward, no longer having something to lean on. My eyes were wide but you couldn't see the whites or pupil, just glowing neon green all around. I lay on the ground with both fists clenched tightly and my teeth grinding together. Red puddles began forming under my hands and I lay there motionless.

"She's stabbing herself!" Sesshoumaru cried. "Take it out of her now! I know you said you could!"

"Wait." Said Kurama, picking up a piece of shattered trunk. He tossed it at me and as it touched my leg it burst into flame and disintegrated.

"But... what do we do now?" Yusuke yelled. He turned to Koenma and grabbed the front of his shirt, lifting him from the ground. "This is all your fault!"

"My fault?"

"If you had just let her go back she wouldn't have forced herself to do this!"

Koenma looked away sadly. "But there's nothing we can do now..."

"What are you doing?" Kurama yelled, grabbing Sesshoumaru's arm as he started to leave the shield. Sesshoumaru snatched his arm away and growled at him, his eyes glowing red. "If you cowards won't do something I will!" Everyone stared at him guiltily and Sesshoumaru continued forward.

He crouched down by my side and a tiny bolt zipped over and struck his arm. He clenched his fist to keep from crying out and turned to me. My face was still and my eyes remained bright green. He reached a hand as if to stroke my face but another bolt struck his fingers and he pulled back, bleeding. "Kira." He whispered. "You aren't trying to leave me are you?"

My ear twitched at the sound of a voice so close and I spoke. "I told... you to... stay behind him." I managed to say.

"Don't talk, just focus. Do you remember why you agreed to do this so soon?" I barely managed to shake my head and cried in pain when I did. "You dreamed Inuyasha was in trouble. I think he is. I feel suddenly strange and it's not only from seeing you like this. We need to find him!"

Tears were streaming down my face as I remembered what he said was true. As I forced myself to sit up a massive bolt of green lightening shot out from my body and struck Sesshoumaru in his stomach. His eyes grew wide as he grunted and fell forward and I heard Botan scream. I sat in shock as I stared at his still form, the pain now forgotten. "Sesshoumaru?" I reached out to touch him but a spark flew off my hand and I quickly pulled back. "Sesshoumaru!" I screamed. "Wake up!" He didn't move.

I crawled backwards in shock, green tears pouring from my glowing eyes. The others behind the shield stared at me as my hair began to turn green. Long neon green streaks were appearing in my black hair and running down to the bottom as I sat there crying, sparks flying off of me. I fell over and collapsed, shaking with sobs as the others stood back, afraid to leave the shield. A massive wave of energy erupted from my body and the force of it rolled Sesshoumaru's body over a few times and everyone behind the shield fell over backwards. Every tree in the entire room shattered or burst into flames and cracks appeared, running throughout the walls. Large chunks fell from the ceiling and crashed to the ground.

Suddenly my entire body glowed green and I forced myself to sit, glaring at everyone. "What's happening?" I heard someone shout, though I couldn't tell who it was. My entire body was burning yet it somehow felt numb at the same time and my eyes changed again. They were now entirely red with tears still pouring out and down my face looking like streams of blood. Puddles of it appeared around me as they dripped off my face. My hands tensed up as the cuts from my claws disappeared and my fangs felt as if they were growing longer. An immense pain filled my entire body as I stared up at the sky painted ceiling and let a piercing scream erupt from my lips. I didn't realize it but I was sitting crouched on two legs with my hands in front supporting me, keeping me from toppling forward. As I sat there screaming I began to change.

"What's going on?" Kurama shouted, wincing as he covered his ears. Everyone else behind the shield covered theirs as well, while they stared at me.

I shrunk in size and my shape became blurry and hard to make out from within the light. Slowly my scream turned into a howl and my form fell forward and lay still. As the green light diminished instead of my form lying on the ground there was instead a black wolf. Its eyes were closed but bright green fur was scattered among the black and a blue crescent moon was on its forehead with two red streaks below the left eye. A silver locket hung around its neck. Everyone stared in shock at it until Yusuke spoke up. "Is that... her?"

"I think so..." Kurama said slowly. He tossed another chunk of wood at me but instead of bursting, this time it just hit my side and bounced off, causing me to twitch slightly. "It's safe. Botan, Yukina, see to Sesshoumaru." They nodded and went to his side while the others slowly approached me.

Kurama placed a hand on my chest. "She's still breathing." He sighed in relief.

Yusuke walked over and sat beside me, placing a hand on my head. He jumped backwards as I lifted it with a snarl, my eyes glowing bright red. I looked around myself, seeing everything in a red haze and shook my head. My eyes turned to glow green next and I closed them for a moment before looking around again. This time it was normal. My eyes were back to their normal emerald green. I staggered to my feet and with Yusuke and Kurama's help I managed to stand. I looked at myself as best I could and yelped in shock before sniffing the air. I stumbled over to Sesshoumaru's side and laid my head on his chest with my eyes closed. When I reopened them they were glowing green again but I kept my head on my brother. A green light radiated from me and spread all throughout his body.

"She's healing him..." Kurama whispered.

With a choking cough Sesshoumaru'seyes flutteredopen as he stared slowly around at all the concerned faces watching him. "W-where's Kira?" He muttered and then looked down. "You?" He said to me.

I raised my head and barked once and as I lightly licked his arm my eyes turned their normal green once more before swirling deep blue. I stared up at him and he shakily raised a hand to pet my head.

As I sat watching him another image of Inuyasha flashed before my eyes. He was calling my name as he coughed up blood, wounds covering his entire body. I leapt to my feet and began barking hysterically, unsure of how to change back.

"Hiei." Kurama said. "Read her thoughts so we can know what she needs!"

Hiei stepped forward from the crowd and came to my side. He stared at me and closed his eyes, concentrating hard. "I can't."

"What do you mean?" Yusuke yelled.

"I mean she's blocking me out!" Hiei screamed back.

"Make direct contact." Kurama suggested.

Hiei glared at him and reached a hand out, placing it on the side of my head. "Still nothing." I whimpered and laid my head on his lap and closed my eyes. He almost jumped back with embarrassment but instead set both hands on my head and closed his eyes again as everyone watched him, amazed at his reaction. "She's seen more images of her other brother." Hiei said with his eyes still closed. "She knows he's in trouble and needs to find him right now." I removed my head and ran around everyone, barking again as he got to his feet. Koenma handed the watch to Yusuke who strapped it on andgrabbed a handful of the fur on the back of my neck. I reached out and grabbed Hiei's pants in my teeth.

Kurama laughed. "You should go with her. That's the only way we'll know what she's saying."

Hiei tried to hide his red face as he nodded and grabbed Yusuke's arm.

"I want... to go." Sesshoumaru muttered, trying to get to his feet. I growled at him and snapped at his hand as he reached for Yusuke. "What's... wrong?"

"You're too hurt. She won't allow you to injure yourself further."

Sesshoumaru stared at me for a second. "Then... take this. But don't... touch the... handle." He gasped, shakily lifting my sword.

Yusuke nodded and took it in his hand as he set the watch's destination. With a flash we were gone leaving the others to tend to Sesshoumaru and wait.

* * *

We arrived at the well and I ran to the side and peered down into it, barking for the others to hurry as I noticed it was already night. They each took hold of me and we all leapt into the darkness. We appeared on the other side and I jumped out and waited for the others. I paused to sniff the air and then caught the scent of fresh blood, Inuyasha's blood. I howled and took off. Even Hiei had trouble keeping up with my speed. I skidded to a stop and closed my eyes, concentrating. Slowly my size began to increase until I was several times larger than before. I laid my head on Hiei's chest, almost knocking him over and he said, "She wants us to get on." 

They both scrambled onto my back and I took off, the trees bending almost in half from the wind I created as I flew past, my desperation driving me.

I lost the scent only once but then a fresh breeze brought it back to me, much stronger than before and I took off again. In a few minutes I skidded to a halt at the edges of a very thick forest and peered through the gloom as the two guys slid off of my back. I set my head on Hiei again and he spoke my thoughts. "They're in there. Be on your guard."

Yusuke nodded and I closed my eyes, shrinking back to the size of a slightly larger than normal wolf. We entered the woods quietly, none of us making a sound as we continued forward. Suddenly I stopped and the sounds of shouts could be heard just ahead. I looked at Hiei and Yusuke and they nodded as we crept forward.

The scene that greeted us was one of mass chaos. There was blood everywhere and it took all of my will power just to block its smell out and stay alert. I looked around, searching for Inuyasha first but my attention was taken. Sango was fighting against her little brother Kohaku who was under Naraku's control, trying to evade his attacks while still not striking back and Kirara stood by, afraid to attack her old master. Miroku was fighting the urge to use the wind tunnel for Naraku's poisonous insects flew around him, trapping him in their midst. He struck at the bugs with his staff but wasn't getting anywhere for every time he killed one, two more took its place. Minor demons also flew at him but were quickly killed by the swinging staff.

I looked over and Kouga was fighting alone against Kagura. She laughed as he struggled against the powers of her fan. The waves of wind hit him repeatedly, never giving him a chance to defend himself. I watched in horror as he fell against a tree and coughed up blood. _My dreams..._ I thought as my eyes widened. With a high pitched howl I leapt into the fray, Hiei and Yusuke failing to stop me, and ran to Kouga's side. His eyes widened in surprised as he felt my cold nose on his hand. He looked at me and sniffed while Kagura stopped attacking, caught off guard by my sudden appearance. She laughed. "One of your pets?" She asked, highly amused.

He ignored her and stared at me. "You're that girl!" He whispered.

I nodded and licked one of his wounds, whimpering. He winced at my touch. "I'll be fine." He muttered.

With a yelp I slammed into him, knocking him out of the way as Kagura attacked again. The tree Kouga had just been leaning on burstinto pieces and she glared at us. "Stupid little wolf!" She screamed, pointing the fan at us. "I will kill you too!"

I growled at her, my whole face wrinkling in rage as I grew in size. Kagura stepped back as I kept growing and stared in shock. I barked and she stepped back a bit more before she sent a wave of attacks at me. I turned my head and they seemed to bounce right off. I growled at her more fiercely than before, one of my fangs equal to the length of her arm and her face grew full of fear.

I felt a hand on my leg. "She says to see to the boy." Hiei said, shooting a glance at Kouga who sat on the ground watching me in shock. I lunged at Kagura, catching a side of her clothes as she dodged. It tore off in my teeth and hung there as I growled at her more. "Curse you." She spat as she pulled a feather from her hair. In a swirl of smoke a massive feather appeared under her and she flew away. I snapped at her as she soared over my head and dived to Kohaku, snatching the back of his shirt and pulling him up beside her.

"Kohaku!" Sango screamed, reaching up to him as he faded into the distance. The bugs and demons surrounding Miroku slowly began to leave as well. Glaring after them as they disappeared, I slowly shrunk to the size of a normal wolf and ran in circles, barking widely. Hiei came to my side and placed both hands on my head. He didn't get anything so I placed my head on his chest, causing him to blush. "Where is Inuyasha?" He recited.

Kouga lifted a shaky hand and pointed off into the woods. I licked it as he smiled at me and then passed out and I whimpered as I stared at him but Miroku assured me he would be ok. Hiei, Yusuke and I then took off into the woods in the direction Kouga had indicated.

We stumbled across another clearing and stopped dead, staring. Inuyasha lay back against a tree as Naraku laughed crazily staring at him from underneath the baboon skin. I watched in horror as Inuyasha began to wobble, growing dizzy. I stared at the sky. _It's the night of the new moon!_ I thought frantically. The Inuyasha in front of us now was not the one from before. This one had dark black hair and no dog-ears, claws or fangs. He was a human!

Naraku continued laughing, unaware of us as he savored his victory. Suddenly I realized that Kagome was lying by his feet, a desperate Shippou shaking her. Naraku leaned down and slapped Shippou away. "Little nuisance." He muttered. Kagome's eyes fluttered open and she screamed as he appeared in her view. "That wasn't very nice." He laughed menacingly as he wrapped his fingers around her neck, lifting her from the ground.

"Inu...yasha..." Kagome choked, but he was too injured to move spending everything he had on staying awake.

With a snarl I charged forward and leapt at Naraku, sinking my fangs into his arm. Hiei followed behind me and Yusuke rushed to Inuyasha, trying to keep him conscious. In his surprise Naraku dropped Kagome and Hiei scooped her and Shippou up, bringing them to Inuyasha and Yusuke. As my fangs sunk deep, a purple poison gas sprayed from it, filling my mouth. I fell writhing to the ground, my eyes watering.

Recovering, I leapt away and stood growling at Naraku. I jumped back with a yelp as root like tentacles erupted from the wounds I had made in his arm and wound their way towards Inuyasha and the others. I leapt in their path, biting and clawing at them, with Hiei destroying whatever I missed. I stared at Naraku's body, now just a baboon head sitting in the middle of the tentacles. I charged at it but was knocked away by a flying root and Hiei caught me. He wrapped his arms around my head and shouted. "Urameshi, she says to attack the head!"

He nodded and pointed a finger at it. "Spirit gun!" He yelled and a massive bolt of blue light erupted from his finger, disintegrating everything in his path, trees, tentacles, head and all.


	5. Training and Ghosts

* * *

Back in his castle Naraku looked up from Kanna's mirror, face distorted in rage. He slammed his fist against the wall and shouted. "You lucked out this time Inuyasha but next time I will kill you! ...Kagura!" 

She jumped and stepped from around the corner. "Yes?"

He glared at her. "You couldn't handle one little wolf?"

She snorted indignantly. "You didn't see her change? I don't know who she was but she wasn't about to let that wolf demon die."

Naraku turned back to Kanna. "Let us watch this black wolf and find out more about her." He said as Kanna made the mirror swirl and zoom in on me.

* * *

I whimpered, laying my head on Inuyasha's arm. He stared at me blankly, his eyes closing. 

Suddenly a bright light surrounded me and everyone stared in shock. I yelped and then grew silent as my shape began to change. When the light disappeared a girl sat in the wolf's place. She had pure silver hair past her waist and ice blue eyes with very pale skin. Her nails were long and rounded, not sharp, and her teeth were normal and she had no wolf ears or tail. The facial markings were gone as well.

Yusuke blinked. "Kira?"

I nodded and stared at myself. "It's the new moon. I'm not a full demon so I change for half the night of the new moon." I stared at Inuyasha sadly. "And he changes for the entire night."

We turned at some rustling in the bushes behind us but relaxed as Sango emerged. Kirara followed behind with a badly injured Kouga on her back while Miroku kept him from falling.

"What happened here?" Sango asked, looking around and laying her eyes on Inuyasha and me.

"Did you... defeat Naraku?" Kouga managed to ask.

I shook my head. "It wasn't really him. It was one of those puppet things." I turned to Inuyasha. "I wish there was something I could do!" I shouted in frustration.

"You can." Yusuke said and I stared at him. "When your brother was hurt you went to his side as a wolf and healed him. Concentrate and do it for him too."

I stared at him for a second and then turned to Inuyasha. I closed my eyes and placed my hands on his arm, focusing. My eyes sprang open again, glowing bright green and my hands began to glow as well. Sparks shot off and flowed through Inuyasha's body and his eyes slowly opened. He stared at me. "What're you doing?" He muttered weakly watching my glowing eyes and hands. Neon green light spread from them and went all along Inuyasha's body, hovering around wounds and moving on as they healed.

"I thought she was a human right now." Kagome questioned. "How is she doing this?"

Yusuke shook his head. "This isn't a demonic power, this is hers. You saw me shoot that blast right?" Kagome nodded and he continued. "That was my spirit power. I'm human too."

As I finished I pulled my hands away and blinked a few times before my eyes returned to their normal color. Inuyasha open and closed his hands a few times and sat up. "Th-thanks." He stuttered.

I grinned and responded. "No problem!" I stood slowly and walked over to Kouga. "If you get off I will heal you too."

He nodded gratefully and slid off Kirara's back, landing in a heap on the ground. "Lean on me." I said as I sat beside him. He placed an arm around my neck and I closed my eyes again. When reopened they were glowing bright green again and I placed my also glowing hands on Kouga's chest, blushing slightly. The green light spread all around his body, sealing up the numerous cuts covering him.

As I finished up he raised his arm and clenched his fist. He grinned at me and I smiled back. "Thank you...?" He trailed off as I collapsed onto him. He caught me and held me in his arms. "What happened?"

"She's never used her spirit power before. Well, only once but she was in a panic. She probably just exhausted herself." Yusuke explained. "After some sleep she'll be fine again."

Suddenly Inuyasha sprang to his feet and kicked at Kouga who leapt out of the way, still holding me. "What are you doing mutt face?" He yelled.

"Let go of her!" Inuyasha demanded.

"What for?"

"Because I said so! She doesn't want you holding her!"

"She healed and fought with me so why wouldn't she?"

"She was just pitying you! She did more than I would've done."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Stop it both of you!" She yelled. "Kira needs rest and you're not helping her get it!"

Kouga nodded. "Of course." He said and set me down gently against a tree. Everyone else found a place to rest and they spent the night in the clearing surrounding my sleeping form. While Inuyasha and Kouga glared at each other, daring the other to go near me, Hiei and Yusuke crept to my side and fell asleep on either side of me. Gradually all was quiet as everyone drifted slowly to sleep.

* * *

I awoke the next morning in a daze. "What happened?" I asked, sitting up slowly. 

"You tired yourself out from using too much spirit power before you've learned how to use it right." Yusuke explained, coming to my side.

"Oh..." I rubbed my eyes and looked around. "Is everyone ok now?"

Inuyasha leapt over to me and tightly embraced me. "Thanks to you." He said. I looked him over. There were no more cuts of any kind on him and his hair was silver once more. His ears were back too and I poked one of them. "You look funny without them." I joked.

He grabbed one of mine back. My demonic features had returned while I was resting. "And so do you!"

I laughed and looked up at him when suddenly my eyes filled with tears. Inuyasha watched as they swirled dark blue. "What's wrong?"

"I-I thought I was going to lose you! I kept having dreams so I did something too soon to get them to take me back here!" I cried, sobbing into his chest. "It hurt so much!

He slowly wrapped his arms around me and glared at Hiei and Yusuke. "What did she have to do?" He growled.

"We were supposed to train her and get her ready so she could accept her spirit energy that's been gathering over the years for her. Instead Koenma said she couldn't leave until she took it back inside her body. She did it and it almost killed her buther longing to see if you were alright kept her alive." Yusuke said over my cries. "That and the thought that she might have killed her other brother." He added.

"What? She killed Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha shouted in shock and my tears doubled at the images it brought to my head.

"No, she almost did. She was obviously having serious troubles absorbing the energy. I've done it before and it is very painful. It tears away at your insides if you're not strong enough to handle it. Sesshoumaru saw this and went to her side. When he got close a massive bolt of green light shot from her body and hit him, shocking and hurting him very badly. He would've died but for some reason she then transformed into a wolf and managed to heal him enough to wake him up. Yukina and the others are tending to him right now so I'm sure he's fine." Yusuke assured me.

"I didn't mean to..." I muttered to myself. "I told him to stay away but he didn't listen!"

"It's ok." Inuyasha said with a comforting hug. "They said he's fine so he is. You should... go check on him."

I looked up at him, surprised at his words. "Do you mean it? I won't be back for a while I think..."

He nodded and looked away. "He needs you right now more than I do."

"Oh thank you!" I screamed happily as I leapt on him with a hug. "I'll come back as soon as I can ok?" He nodded as I stood and bid my good byes to Kagome, Sango, Miroku and Shippou as well.

As I turned to speak to Kouga he came forward and embraced me. I felt my entire face burn bright red as he spoke. "I will miss you very much Kira. Without you I would probably be dead by now." I nodded but he still held me and I was unable to free myself from his grasp.

"Sit" Kagome whispered and Inuyasha slammed lightly into the ground.

"What was that for?" He demanded.

"Just leave them." She responded.

"At least he's not bothering Kagome anymore." Shippou pointed out.

"But she's my…! …Fine." Inuyasha muttered, glaring at Kouga in disgust as he still held me.

I tried to pull away uncomfortably but he wouldn't let go and Hiei finally couldn't watch any longer. He stepped forward and began prying him off of me. "She has to be leaving now." He muttered, growing very annoyed. "Her brother needs her!"

"Hmm... Then I shall keep you no longer." Kouga decided as he finally let go. I backed away, my face bright red and he laughed. "Awww, I've embarrassed her."

"Good bye." I muttered quietly as I turned to leave with Hiei and Yusuke. I heard Kouga disappear into the woods and turned smiling to everyone else. "See you later!" I called to them.

As we went out of sight Miroku spoke up. "I wish she would stick around here longer."

Sango glared at him. "What for?" She demanded.

"She's an excellent fighter even without all of their training and her healing powers are very useful." He explained. "Why? What'd you think I'd say?"

Sango blushed and looked away. "Nothing..."

Kagome looked around. "We need to find a place to camp. How about we go back to Kaede's village for a while?" Everyone agreed and they all set off towards the village.

* * *

Hiei, Yusuke and I were just reaching the well. "Ready?" I asked and they both nodded. We linked hands and got ready to enter when suddenly a hand grabbed the back of my shirt. I screamed as I toppled backwards towards it and came face to face with a grinning Kouga. "I thought you had left!" I yelled in surprise and Hiei glared at him and Yusuke rolled his eyes. 

"I knew you were coming here and I wanted to ask you something." I looked at him and he continued. "Why were you sitting here so long ago?"

I closed my eyes and grasped the locket that hung around my neck. "I was waiting for someone." I replied.

"For who?"

"The one who made this necklace for me."

"And who was that?" Kouga asked, as Hiei and Yusuke listened in.

"His name was Sean. In return for saving my life, I leave you this to remember me by." I said, reading the back of the locket.

"But... why were you waiting by this well?" Kouga pressed.

"Because, he came from a different world. He arrived through a well one day just like Kagome did. He later told me that he was taking pictures of the wildlife and he fell into this old well. When he climbed out again he was here. He still had his camera though and that's how he got our pictures to go inside this locket. He went home and made it and then came back with it later."

"What's a... camera?" Kouga asked.

"It's a little box that has a button that you press on it. If you do it makes an instant painting that's perfect with no mistakes for you to keep. Next time I come here I'll bring my camera and show you."

Kouga nodded and asked another question. "What did you save him from?"

"Well, I didn't really save him. It was a lesser demon that attacked him and I saw it. I got Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru to come and help me and they killed it while I brought him to safety. He still insisted that I saved him though. After he left for the last time he promised he would come and visit so every day I would spend some part of it just sitting on the edge of the well, waiting for him to come."

"Now that's dedication." Kouga said, smiling. "Can I come with you this time? I would like to see this other world of yours."

I looked at Hiei and Yusuke uneasily. "I don't think that'd be ok..."

"Oh, I see." Kouga said, sniffing slightly and turning away.

I instantly felt bad. "Maybe next time alright?"

He brightened. "Yes, next time!"

I smiled as Yusuke asked me, "Sean. That doesn't sound very Japanese."

I nodded. "This well does bring you to America."

"Then how could you understand him?" Hiei asked.

I shrugged. "I guess I have the gift of tongue. So... can we get going?"

Kouga stood back and watched as the three of us linked hands once more and leapt into the well. With a flash of light we were gone and Kouga was left alone, staring down into an empty hole.

As we climbed out of the well back on the other side Yusuke made a suggestion. "You liked your laptop right?" I nodded and he continued. "Why don't you go home and bring it this time? We'll find some kind of internet connection for you to use."

My face lit up. "Really? Thank you so much!" I ran happily to my house to get it.

While I was gone Hiei looked at Yusuke. "Was that really such a good idea?"

"Why not? She's going to be doing pretty much nonstop training for almost a year every single day. She should be able to have some free time where she can talk to friends online and just relax."

Hiei stared at him. "You realize she brought her CDs and camera too?"

Yusuke nodded. "But you can't talk to people with those and she hasn't really used them yet anyway."

They waited thirty more minutes with no sign of my return before they started to worry. Slowly they began walking towards my house and as they approached shouts were heard from ahead. They cleared the forest and Yusuke burst out laughing while Hiei rolled his eyes. My four younger human siblings had leapt on me at first site, poking and pulling every part of me, especially the tail and ears. At this moment I was trying to pull my littlest brother off of my tail of which he was holding onto with no intention of ever letting go. "Jack!" I screamed. "Get off of me now!"

"No!" He screamed back, laughing. To him this was just another game of wrestling. My mom wasn't helping because she didn't want me to leave either and she was slightly angry that I'd dyed my hair. She didn't buy the fact that it changed by itself. I growled and hissed fiercely in Jack's face but he just laughed harder. I sighed and looked up, noticing Hiei and Yusuke for the first time. "Guys, help me!" I cried in desperation.

Still laughing, Yusuke approached me and leaned forward to my brother. "Hey buddy, would you mind letting go now?"

Jack shook his head and looked away as a reply, suddenly growing shy in the face of strangers. "Ok then..." Yusuke gently picked him up and started to pull, stopping quickly at my cries.

"You can't to that!" I yelled. "He's pulling my hair and it hurts!"

Hiei entered the fray. "You know if this were a fight you'd be dying right now. All they'd have to do is grab your hair, which is very easy because you have so much."

I glared at him. "Well, there's no way I'm cutting it!"

"At least tie it back." Hiei suggested as he walked over. He leaned down into my brother's face. "Are you going to let go now or am I going to have to make you?" He muttered threateningly.

Jack looked up at him for a second and then retreated to my mom, tears filling his eyes. "He's scary..." Jack whimpered as he watched us.

Free of my brother's grasp I turned to my mom. "Send me an email if I get a call about driving." I whispered. "And a reminder for when the concerts coming up. I really don't want to miss that so I might be able to get them to let me go still."

My mom nodded. "What about the beach trip for the fourth of July?"

"Send me the address of the place we're staying at. I just might show up with a bunch of random people but we could sleep outside so don't worry about overcrowding even more, ok?"

My mom agreed and I ran to catch up with Hiei and Yusuke, who were waiting at the edge of the woods. I smiled, waving over my shoulder with one hand, holding the laptop and power cords in the other. "See you later!" I called.

"Bye!" Nick, Will, Megan, Jack and my mom all called as I disappeared into the woods.

Yusuke set the new destination in his watch once we were out of view and Hiei and I both grabbed hold of him. In a flurry of wind we were gone, the leaves swirling in our wake.

We touched ground again in Yusuke's yard and while we were still landing Sesshoumaru burst through the door. He ran to my side, checking for any type of injury. "Why were you gone so long?" He paused as he ran a hand through my green highlighted hair.

"It wasn't that long..." I muttered. Then looking at his face I continued. "I healed too many people and it made me tired. I passed out and they let me sleep until I was better."

He pointed to the computer I was holding. "And what is that?"

"Umm..." I hesitated as the others came outside as well. "We stopped by my house to visit for just a second and I brought my computer so I could keep in touch."

Sesshoumaru stared at me for a second and then muttered, "What does it do?"

I held back a laugh and turned to Yusuke. "Do you have internet connection so I can set it up and test things out?"

"Sure, follow me." He said and walked inside. I followed him with Sesshoumaru right behind me and Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara, Botan and Yukina right behind him. We went into a room where Yusuke got down on his knees and pulled a couch slightly from the wall. He dug around and somehow came up with a cord that he plugged into the wall. He took the computer from me and plugged it into the other end of the cord. He then plugged in the power to a socket in another wall and handed me the fully hooked up computer. "Try it out," he said.

I thanked him and opened the top, sitting the computer on my lap. Everyone peered over my shoulders as I turned on the power and typed in my password. We waited as it turned on and I blushed as the desktop pictures of Sesshoumaru appeared first thing. I clicked the AIM icon and it slowly opened. "It works!" I exclaimed happily. As soon as I was logged on, five messages popped up. One was from a girl on Gaia online. She told me she had my avatar drawing ready and I thanked her while opening a webpage so I could get it from her. Two more were from people on myOtaku who I knew through my website. They were freaking out trying to figure out if I was serious in my last post. The last two were classmates wondering where I had been for so long. I invited all four of them into a chat room together and told them to wait and I would explain what has been happening after I responded to someone else really quick. I went to the Gaia girl and accepted her private message happily and thanked her very much for it. After she was done talking I returned to the chat room. All this while Sesshoumaru and the others had been staring over my shoulder. None of them had any idea what I was saying because Sesshoumaru couldn't read and the others couldn't read English.

"Someone's pretty popular." Kurama laughed.

"What are all those?" Sesshoumaru asked, referring to the open windows covering the screen.

"Those are the conversations I'm having with my friends right now." I explained. "They all have a computer like this and they're sitting in front of it typing to me as I type to them."

I turned back to the computer and told the one's in the room who didn't go to my site to go to it and read my most recent post. Then I explained briefly were I was and what had been happening. I could tell they did not believe me at all so I promised that I would put up real pictures of everyone eventually.I finally got away by saying I had to go train and then put up an away message, refusing to respond to there never ending messages.

Yusuke pointed to my message box, filling with messages. "Aren't they still talking to you?"

I shrugged. "They're just saying the same things over and over again. I'll explain stuff later."

Kurama turned to me. "Would you like to learn how to use all of that spirit energy? Then you hopefully won't pass out when you use a lot at once."

"Yes please," I said nodding and followed him and Kuwabara outside. As soon as I was out of the room, Sesshoumaru collapsed onto the couch, clutching his stomach. He was still in a lot of pain from the shock I gave him.

Botan went to his side. "Oh! Are you alright?"

He grunted before replying slowly. "I've never felt this much pain before, not even when I lost my arm..." The others stared at his arm, just realizing there was just an empty sleeve hanging there but he ignored them and continued. "I'd hate to fight her once she's mastered it. Where will they be training?"

"In the woods somewhere isolated. Kurama won't risk hurting someone while she still has no control. He and Kuwabara will be in danger too by just being near her." Yusuke responded.

Sesshoumaru nodded and made to stand up but fell back again with a groan as the pain spread through him. "Don't try to move." Botan ordered. "Yukina?"

Yukina stepped forward and turned to Sesshoumaru with a slight bow. Slowly she reached out her hands and began to heal him. Immediate relief flowed through Sesshoumaru's body so he just sat helplessly and watched as she worked.

Outside I was still following Kurama and Kuwabara. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"Somewhere away from people." Kurama replied. "Right now you probably have little or no control over your powers and we don't want to hurt someone."

"Oh..." I muttered quietly as we continued still further.

Finally we arrived at our destination. It was an old dead forest, full of nothing but dark shadows and clawing branches. I smelled not one animal inside and heard not a single bird's chirp. "I-in there?" I stuttered.

"Why?" Kurama asked laughing. "Are you afraid?"

"No!" I responded quickly but my shiver gave it away. "It just feels weird, that's all. There's no life left in this forest."

"Exactly. There's nothing you can accidentally hurt. Did you realize that your brother was still in extreme pain?" Kurama asked.

I shook my head and stared at him. "He... was?"

Kurama nodded. "Yes, but he didn't want you to worry so he tried to act ok. Yukina probably is healing him right now."

"The big baby." Kuwabara laughed.

I glared at him, my eyes flashing red. "Shut up! How about I shock you now?" I yelled.

Kuwabara backed slightly away but Kurama agreed. "Yes, maybe you should practice that now."

I stared blankly at him. "...What?"

"Are you crazy? She'll kill me!" Kuwabara screamed.

Kurama laughed. "No, I mean she should practice her aim by trying to hit a tree with a bolt like that."

"So we... have to go inside?" I asked, referring to the woods ahead.

"Yep, let's go!" Kurama said as he came up behind me. He started shoving me in the direction of the trees but I didn't budge. He ended up holding my shoulders and pulling me backwards inside, my heels dragging in the dirt. He stopped, noticing Kuwabara wasn't coming either. "Do I have to drag you too?" Kurama called and he came quickly.

"I don't think it feels very good either..." he muttered.

Kurama released me, turning to stare into the gloom of the woods. "I'll admit it doesn't feel welcoming," he began as he caught my arm before I could run away. "But it's the best place to train. Let's go in." He began to drag me again and Kuwabara followed closely behind.

We continued on in this way until we reached a wide clearing where Kurama finally released me but I stayed close to his side, peering around the gloomy forest. I sniffed the air. "I can only smell rotting bark..." I muttered, holding my nose. "I wonder how this entire forest just died?"

"Maybe a chemical spill." Kurama suggested, turning to me. "Well, we should start anyway. Face the tree you will try to hit." I obeyed and he continued, "Now focus and hold out your hand, palm flat, towards it. Close your eyes and imagine bringing all that energy to your hand."

I closed my eyes and concentrated. A moment later I spoke. "It feels warm." My hand had developed a slight green glow around it.

Kurama nodded. "Good. Now pull the imaginary trigger and shoot it off." I thought hard about a trigger being pulling in my mind and staggered back as a huge neon green beam of light erupted from my hand. "Hold it steady!" I heard Kurama say as he stepped away, and I grasped my shaking wrist with my free hand to hold it still. I pointed it at my tree, the one with the roots sticking partly out, and watched it disintegrate almost instantly inside the blast as well as the trees behind and around it.

"How do I stop it?" I yelled but as I spoke the blast started weakening and eventually dwindled away. I collapsed where I stood and stared at the wide path I had made in the forest while holding my head. I slowly fell backwards and lay there motionless.

Kurama's smiling face appeared above, looking down on me. "Are you dizzy?" He asked, giving me a hand.

I nodded as I took it and was pulled to my feet. "Pretty good right?" I asked.

Kurama laughed. "Yes. You have Kuwabara scared."

I glanced over at him as he got to his feet and yelled back. "No I'm not!"

I laughed and turned back to Kurama. "What now?"

Kurama paused for a moment before speaking again. "I want you to try to shape it into different things that could be used in battle. Show me how it works on the trees that surround us."

"Like his sword?" I asked referring to Kuwabara and Kurama nodded so I closed my eyes. I heard him backing away as I mentally pictured a sword in my hand made out completely of my neon green energy. I held my hand in the position it would be in if I were really holding a sword and concentrated my energy on the picture in my head. Suddenly a line of light shot out of my hand and shaped its way slowly into a sword. Eventually it totally detached from my hand as well so it seemed just like I was holding a glowing sword, more detailed than Kuwabara's versions. The blade was broad and flat with a noticeable handle.

Kurama came slightly closer clapping. "Try holding that shape for a while and attacking something."

I nodded and closed my eyes for a second as the sword flickered and then ran straight ahead at the trees before me. I swung the sword three times and jumped back quickly. The tree stayed the same for a moment before suddenly falling sideways into three pieces.

Kurama came up behind me. "I see you have skills with a sword as well. Has Hiei secretly started his training?"

"No." I said blushing and scratching the back of my head. "I guess I just watch too much TV." I added with a laugh.

He smiled. "Try something else now, something you haven't seen us do yet."

I nodded and closed my eyes again. The blade of my sword grew thicker and thinner while the sharp end began to round off. The hilt rounded as well and when I finished I held it out laughing. "It's a baseball bat!"

Kurama laughed too and then pretended to grow serious. "Now, can you make balls to go with it?"

"Hmm..." I stood there, leaning on my makeshift baseball bat and held out my empty hand. Green light swirled around it for a second before coming together in my palm to form a sphere the size of a softball. I set it down by my feet and made two more before tossing them all to Kurama. I took a batting pose and called out playfully. "Pitch them to me!"

Kurama laughed and backed away some. "Try to catch them Kuwabara." As he began to throw I suddenly cried "time out!" and he stopped. "Come here Kuwabara!" I called and he came quickly to my side.

"What is it?" he jumped as a green glow appeared around his hand, shaping its way around until it was a baseball glove.

I laughed. "Now you're ready!"

He laughed too and slid it off his hand. It still held its shape and he showed Kurama before putting it back on and retreating behind him.

"Are you ready?" Shouted Kurama and I nodded as I took up my batting stance. He threw the ball as hard as he could at me and I swung my neon green bat. With a spark the two collided and headed straight back at Kurama. He threw himself to the ground as Kuwabara grabbed the ball in his glove. As the ball hit him he slid back a few feet, leaving skid marks in the ground, but came back smiling. "I didn't feel a thing through this glove!" He said.

Kurama got off of the ground and dusted himself off. "Maybe I need one as well then..."

I laughed and looked at him. "I didn't mean too. It just goes where I hit it and I have no control over that."

Kurama chuckled. "I know but I think that's enough of this. You're exhausting your energy."

I sighed jokingly and all of my creations disappeared in clouds of green steam. "What now?" I asked.

Kurama was silent for a moment and then spoke up again. "How about making a shield around yourself?"

I nodded and closed my eyes for a second. A moment later a green wall sprang up behind me, then one in front of me and on all sides. Finally one appeared above and below me as well. "I'm stuck in a box!" I yelled as I pushed the side in front of me causing the entire thing to topple over. I fell flat on my face but came up laughing. Unlike my earlier creations, the walls of the shield were transparent and easy to see through so I could know what was going on. "Hey Kurama!" I called. "You throw pretty hard. Hold out your hand and test this things strength."

Kurama nodded and held out a hand as a solid appearing green ball appeared in it. He pulled back his hand and let it go as hard as he could. It slammed into the box, causing it to slide backwards but otherwise nothing happened. He approached and ran his hands along the place where the ball had hit. "There are no dents or anything..." He said.

I reached up and pushed the top and it sprang open so I could climb out. I leapt down and warned Kurama and Kuwabara. "Have either of you seen Dragonball Z?" They both shook their heads and I continued. "Well, they shoot blasts out of their hands and I want to try but I have no idea what I'm doing so you might want to back away." I added with a laugh.

They both did as I asked quickly and I placed both hands at my side. Unable to position both hands forward like they would in the show I just placed them together so the fingertips were slightly bent and lightly touching their counterpart on my other hand. I looked over at the others and laughed before I grew serious and stared straight ahead. Suddenly a bright light appeared in between my hands and grew larger, forming the shape of a ball. I let my hands drift apart as the ball grew larger until I was holding a ball half the size of my body at my side. "Can I shoot it off?" I called to Kurama.

He stared at me for a second. "Go ahead." He finally decided and I squealed with joy as I pushed forward suddenly, letting the ball go. It shot forward into the center of the forest clearing a massive path through the trees that just kept going and going. Finally it was out of sight and I walked over to Kurama and Kuwabara beaming. "Did you see that? That was awesome!" I screamed happily. Suddenly I fell forward with a sigh and Kurama caught me. Behind us the box like shield I had created sizzled out into nothing and I passed out.

"What happened?" Kuwabara yelled.

Kurama set me gently down so I was leaning against a tree before calmly replying. "She's tired herself out, that's all. She made so many things just now. She's so much stronger than she looks." Kurama smiled at my resting form before continuing. "That should give her a good advantage in the tournament because they won't be expecting anything big. And did you notice how solid her things looked? They hardly had any sparks fly off or anything and they're so strong."

Kuwabara nodded. "My sword gets all these zappy line things coming off when I use it. It's constantly moving but hers stays still."

About an hour later my eyes fluttered open again and I looked around, holding my head. "Owww..." I moaned. "Did I overdo it?"

Kurama offered me a hand and taking it, I was pulled to my feet. "Just a bit." He said, laughing.

I blushed and released my head. "What do we do now?"

"We practice more." Kurama paused as I stared at him and then continued. "We need to work on your ability to handle using it. We can't have you suddenly pass out in the middle of the ring. You were out for an hour."

"But... how do I learn?"

"You have to practice for many days, just like I did." Said Kuwabara, stepping forward.

"Well then, what do I do now?" I asked, staring up at them both.

"Use more energy. You'll start getting used to it until you no longer grow dizzy at all. That should take a while though." Kurama said. "Make another sword. See how quickly you can have it done."

I nodded and closed my eyes. A second later I reopened them and stared at the bright green sword in my hand. "How's that?" I asked proudly.

"Hold it still." Ordered Kurama as he came to my side. He reached out and began running his hands along the smooth, solid feeling blade of my sword. "This is really made of your energy? It's hard to believe..."

I looked up at him. "Why?"

Instead of answering, Kurama called Kuwabara over. "Now make your spirit sword."

Kuwabara held out his hand like he was holding an invisible sword and then an orange line shot out and up from his hand. I stared from his to mine before speaking. "They're... different." Kuwabara's sword was dancing around in his hand, never still, and random sparks would fly off periodically. Mine on the other hand, was perfectly still, looking like a plastic, neon green broadsword.

Kurama nodded. "It may be from the difference of spirit energy you two have." After that little discovery, they had me make all kinds of different things and even use them in little battles against them. Mostly my shield was tested in those, but I did cross swords with Kuwabara a few times.

For the final round I lasted over five hours before I finally passed out and Kurama decided to stop the training. With a yawn he scooped me up in his arms and carried me back to Yusuke's house. It was very early in the morning so when we arrived Kuwabara headed straight to bed while Kurama laid me in mine gently. Sesshoumaru was soundly asleep at the foot of my bed and remained motionless. Kurama laughed as he placed the covers around me and then turned to leave. "Hello Hiei." He whispered.

"How good is she?" Hiei asked as he followed Kurama into the next room.

"She would've gotten pretty far in the tournament without any training though she would pass out a lot." Kurama chuckled in response.

"What's her best now?"

"She lasted over five hours while constantly using her energy. When she passed out at the end of that we decided to come back. She uses her energy in ways I've never seen before..."

Hiei glanced through the doorway at my sleeping form. "How so?"

"She made a baseball bat out of her energy but it didn't spark at all. It looked completely solid like a plastic bat. She made balls and gloves the same way."

Hiei stared at Kurama. "You were playing games with her?"

"Well, she was using her energy so it was training. She is also very quick with her swings. I think she was a very good player before we took her."

"What else could she do?" Hiei pressed impatiently.

Kurama laughed. "If you're so interested we'll have her show everybody tomorrow, but she made a sword and a seemingly impenetrable shield. It was like a box that she climbed inside so she was protected on all sides and from below and above. She is very smart and I don't think she knows it yet. You should come with us tomorrow and start her sword training as well."

Hiei nodded. "Maybe..."

Kurama stood and yawned again. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning." He left Hiei alone in the room. Sliding to his feet, Hiei approached the room where I lay sleeping but stopped before entering. He listened for any hints of a bad dream he could save me from but I slept peacefully tonight. He finally gave up and retreated to a couch where he laid down and drifted into sleep.

He awoke early the next morning to a tapping on his shoulder. He rolled over and barely caught himself from crying out as he saw who it was. I had been told by Kurama to wake him so we could train and had sat there nervously tapping him for several minutes before he finally woke up.

Hiei narrowed his eyes at me. "What?" He yelled.

I blushed and pointed to the sword at my waist. "I'm sorry! Kurama told me to wake you up so we could go train some..."

He nodded and sat up, his face turning red. "I'm sorry I yelled just now." He muttered and quickly left the room.

I stared after him for a moment, my face still burning, before I finally stood and followed him out. Kurama was talking to Yusuke. "We'll be gone for the entire day most likely so don't be surprised if we don't come back." He said as he turned to me. "Ready?"

I nodded and we set off for the forest we had practiced in yesterday. Hiei fell in step with us after a while and Kurama smiled to himself as we continued. Just like yesterday I stopped at the edge of the trees.

"What are you doing?" Hiei asked, staring at me.

"It feels even weirder than yesterday!" I cried as I stared into the darkness.

Kurama patted me on the back and laughed. "It's ok! You have us here to protect you!"

I laughed and smiled up at him. "Ok, let's go."

We went slowly into the forest and stopped in the clearing from yesterday. I gasped and grabbed onto Kurama's shirt. "The holes are gone!" I cried as I buried my face in him.

He placed a comforting arm around me and stared around. "You're right..."

Hiei looked around too. "What?"

"Yesterday she blasted quite a few holes in these trees and they don't seem to be here anymore."

"Are you sure this is the same clearing?" Hiei asked.

I lifted my head and nodded. "I can smell Kuwabara's scent still!"

Kurama pried me off of him and went over to the trees. "These were definitely destroyed." He murmured, bringing his hand along one's surface.

I sank to the ground and began to whimper. "Ghosts!" I cried. "I told you this forest felt weird! They're no animals or anything. There's no life in here!" I looked around growing terrified. "Now they're going to come after us seeking revenge for destroying their home!"

I screamed as something touched my back but turned to see that it was only Hiei. "Relax, nothing will happen." He said quietly and I nodded.

"Do we still have to stay here?" I whimpered as Kurama returned.

He nodded. "Nothing has happened to threaten us at all so we have nothing to fear." He said, offering me a hand.

I took it and he pulled me to my feet. "Now, let's show Hiei what you did yesterday."

"Ok..." I whispered and held out a hand. A softball sized ball of glowing green energy appeared in it. It flickered once and then seemed to grow solid, like a plastic toy. I handed it to Hiei who stared closely at it.

"What else?" He asked.

Instead of answering I held out my hand again as if I was holding something and a baseball bat appeared in my hand, looking as solid as the ball. In the other hand I made a glove shape itself over my hand. Hiei didn't look amused so I dropped them both on the ground, making them keep their forms. I made my solid looking sword next and added it to the pile as well. I stepped away and made the giant cube shield form around myself. I popped open the top and began to climb out but Kurama stopped me.

"Let Hiei test its strength." He said so I stayed put.

Hiei stared at Kurama. "Are you sure?"

Kurama nodded. "Don't overdo it but we want to see how much it can take."

Hiei nodded and held out his hands. Two purplish black fireballs appeared in them and he faced me. "Are you ready?"

I nodded and closed my eyes as Hiei threw the first ball as hard as he could. It hit my shield and sizzled into nothing. He stared at it for a second and then made the second flame triple in size before throwing it too. It did the same thing but also slid the box back a few feet. Hiei looked over at Kurama who nodded, and made a massive black and purple wall of flame shoot out of his hand at me. I screamed in shock as it crashed against the side of the shield and I fell backwards. I watched in fascination as the flames enveloped the entire cube but didn't even once begin to break through to me.

I sat on the ground laughing as Kurama and Hiei ran up to me to check if I was all right. Hiei's face was one of pure shock as he saw the sizzling green box with not one sign of weakening. He sighed and leaned against it, wondering how it was so strong. Suddenly he fell backwards through the wall and landed in a heap beside me.

I burst out laughing as he glared at me. "I'm sorry!" I gasped through giggles. "But you were just standing there and I couldn't resist!"

Kurama stifled a laugh as well and Hiei turned his glare on him. "You have to admit, that was really funny." Kurama chuckled.

I wiped the tears of laughter from my eyes as I got to my feet. "I really am sorry..." I said, holding a hand out to Hiei.

He stared at me for a second before taking it hesitantly. I laughed as I helped him up. "You can relax, I won't try that again. But you have to picture it! You'd be laughing if it was someone else right?"

Hiei paused for a second before the corners of his mouth began to turn.

"I see you, you're holding back a laugh!" I smiled at him. "Why don't you just give in and let it come for once?"

Hiei stared at me before walking to the wall. I opened it and he left quickly. I stared over at Kurama who just shrugged as he watched Hiei leaving too.

When he reached the trees and still didn't stop, I sprang out of the box to chase after him. "Wait, please don't leave!" I cried. "I said I was sorry!" I caught up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Hiei spun around and glared at me and I fell backwards under his gaze.

I sat on the ground calling after him but he kept going. Once he was out of site I looked around. The scary dead trees were all around me in every direction and I was starting to grow afraid again. I felt something touch my back and turned, expecting Hiei again. "Look, I said I was sorry. You don't have to-" My eyes widened in shock as a white, transparent figure grinned back at me. I sat and stared back, unable to move.

It was a boy of around 16 with shaggy hair and gray eyes though the rest of him was entirely whitish and translucent. He slowly reached out a hand and ran his fingers through my hair. "So pretty. Seeing ones like you make me want to be alive again..." He whispered with a smile. "And you're special. You can see me and I can even touch you!" He shook his head, still smiling. "I haven't been able to touch the living in so long..." He clamped his hand over my mouth before I could scream and continued like nothing happened. "Most of the time no one can hear or see me either, so you really are special. I saw you shooting off things yesterday. I grew the trees back so you could practice today too but you seemed more scared by that than happy. Now I'm going to uncover your mouth but if you yell I won't be responsible for what happens."

He let me go and I stared at him, my eyes full of terror. "Are you a ghost?" I barely managed to whisper.

He nodded with a smile. "Yep! And you're able to interact with me like I'm still alive! My name is Sasuke. What's yours?"

I stared at him before answering slowly. "Kira..."

He smiled again. "Kira! That's a cool name." He poked one of my ears and I flinched. He ignored it and kept talking and grinning. "What are you?"

"Wolf demon..." I whispered.

He plopped down on the ground in front of me and I scooted back. He moved forward so I backed further and we continued doing this until my back hit a tree and I could go no further. He laughed. "Why are you so afraid? I haven't hurt you."

"You threatened to." I muttered quietly.

"I wasn't serious!" He said but quickly clamped his hand over my mouth afterwards. "But please don't cry out! I haven't had someone to talk to in so long and I've been so lonely." He pleaded.

I looked into his eyes and began to feel sorry for him so I nodded and he released me. "Can't you make yourself appear more solid?" I whispered.

Sasuke shook his head. "No, but if you concentrate on seeing me you might be able to see me more clearly."

I nodded and stared at him and he slowly began to appear more solid. I could even see the blue of his jeans and his shirt turned black and his hair brown. The eyes stayed gray though but his skin became less pale. "Umm... how... did you die?" I asked very quietly.

He sighed and looked away for a moment. "I was hit by a car. Some friends and me were joking as we walked down the street, shoving each other and stuff. One shoved me right as a car was speeding by..." He shook his head and smiled back at me. "But that was a long time ago."

"Why weren't you taken to spirit world or whatever?" I asked.

"That girl tried to get me to come but I kept running away. Eventually she gave up and I've stayed mostly here since then."

"But... why wouldn't you go with her?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I didn't want to leave this world yet."

I stared at the ground. "I've died before. Several times actually..."

He jumped and stared at me. "Then how are you-?"

I gave a slight laugh and looked up at him. "Over five hundred years ago I fell down a magic well that transported me to America where I shortly after died of a disease. I was then reborn into a human family there and raised by them until I reached my teenage years and died of the same disease. The process repeated until some people found me and gave me the antidote. I was reunited with my real family and then started training because when I died I kept getting more and more spirit energy. That's probably why I can see you so well too. It's because I've died so many times already."

He stared at me for a second. "How do you know you're not justa reincarnation of your former self?"

"Because my body disappeared after I died each time and I still had the demon blood in me when I was found." I explained. "And I still had the memories of five hundred years ago."

"Oh..." He sat still for a second and then looked up at me. He slowly crawled over beside me and leaned back against the same tree. He slipped an arm around me and I began to pull away but stopped as I looked at his sad face.

"If I spend today and tonight with you will you go with the girl to spirit world?" I asked.

He looked over at me in surprise. "Really? But how will I find her?"

"She's staying in the same house I am. She's taken a human form for now."

Sasuke stared at me. "Wow, you really are special."

We sat there for a moment in silence before he turned to me. I stared back at him and even as a ghost I could see his cheeks turning red. "Do you have a boyfriend?" I shook my head in surprise and he continued. "Not ever?" I shook my head again. "I've never had a girlfriend..."

"I'm... sorry." I whispered, my face turning red as well. We sat in silence for a long time again, his arm still draped around me, as I thought as hard as I could. _Hiei! Bring Botan here tomorrow morning!_ I hoped he could sense my thoughts and would forget his grudge and listen.

The sky seen through the trees above us began to grow dark and I felt my head slipping. Soon I was asleep, resting on the ghostly figure beside me.

Sasuke smiled at me as I slept and gently stroked my cheek. I sighed in my sleep and grew quiet again, snuggling closer into him. He blushed and leaned back against the tree with his arm still around my shoulders.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kurama had just found Hiei. "Hiei, I can't find her!" He yelled but Hiei crouched on the ground holding the sides of his head. "Hiei...?" 

"Shut up!" Hiei cried as he closed his eyes. _Hiei! Bring Botan here tomorrow morning!_ The words rang clearly through his head. _Where is here?_ He thought in reply but he received no answer. He stood and looked at Kurama. "She's fine. She's here in this forest and she's asked me to bring Botan here tomorrow."

Kurama stared at him. "Do you think she's found a ghost?"

Hiei nodded. "But I wonder why she didn't scream? She always screams..." He shrugged and walked back towards Yusuke's house. "Well, she didn't seem scared or in trouble so let's do as she says."

Kurama chuckled as Hiei walked away pretending not to care. With one more look around he ran to catch up with him.

A furious Sesshoumaru greeted them. When he saw them returning without his little sister he had jumped up from the couch where he was being healed and ran to the door, momentarily forgetting the pain. "Where is she?" He yelled.

"Calm down." Kurama answered. "She has decided to spend the night in the forest." He walked over to Botan and whispered to her. "She wants you to be there tomorrow morning. We think she's with a ghost."

Botan nodded before quickly changing the subject. "So... Who's hungry? I am!" She cried and left the room laughing nervously.

Sesshoumaru shot Hiei and Kurama a nasty look before collapsing back onto the couch and falling into unconsciousness.

Kurama laughed. "He reminds me of you Hiei."

Hiei jumped at the comment. "No way!" He shouted before leaving the room as well. Kurama laughed to himself again before going into the kitchen with everyone else.


	6. Ghosts and Driving

* * *

I woke to the sound of birds chirping around me and slowly opened my eyes. At first I had no idea why I was outside and when I looked over to find the ghostly boy sleeping on me I almost screamed but managed to stop myself. We were still leaning against the tree but he had fallen asleep with his head now resting on my shoulder, the same as I had done to him when I had fallen asleep. I looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and smiled as Hiei, Kurama and Botan all walked up to me. I placed a finger to my lips to make them stay quiet before waving to them. 

Botan waved back happily before coming forward to crouch in front of me. "So this is your ghost boy!" She whispered.

Hiei glared at Sasuke and then looked away, blushing. Kurama glanced at him. "Hey, what do you have there?"

Hiei looked up at him with a glare. He held out his hand to me and I took what he offered and laughed. "How did you know?" I teased. He shrugged and stepped away.

Sasuke slowly raised his head and looked around, surprised by all the new people. I smiled over at him. "Good morning!" I said happily. "Pose for a picture!"

He laughed at me and nodded as I handed the thing Hiei had brought to Kurama. "A camera." He said, laughing as he held it up to take the picture. "One...two...three!" He counted as Sasuke and I placed an arm around one another's shoulders and put our heads together. We smiled and laughed as Kurama snapped two quick pictures and then stood.

Sasuke turned to me with a smile. "Thank you for that. I'll go through with my part now." He said, as he slowly approached Botan who greeted him warmly.

Kurama turned to me. "And what was your part?"

"To spend the night with him." I responded and I heard Hiei grunt.

"Weren't you scared?" Kurama asked.

Sasuke answered before I could. "Ha! She was terrified. She thought it was you at first." He said, pointing to Hiei. "But then she saw me and I barely kept her from screaming but she calmed down pretty fast." I blushed bright red and noticed Hiei smirk knowingly at Kurama who just ignored it.

I thanked Kurama as he returned my camera to me and then turned to Sasuke. "Well, goodbye I guess..." I muttered stupidly.

He walked over to me and warmly embraced me. My eyes widened in shock as I just stood there until he pulled away. He smiled at me. "Thanks for spending my last night here with me. It was fun." He said as he leaned towards me and I felt my face burn bright red as his lips brushed mine. I heard Kurama laughing as Sasuke pulled away and went towards Botan. He turned and smiled at me and I managed to smile back as he and Botan floated high into the air. He waved at me as they left and I waved too before I plopped down on the ground in a slight trance, running my finger over my lips.

"You really are nice Kira." Kurama said as he took a seat beside me.

I snapped awake and looked over at him. "How so?" I asked.

Kurama laughed. "You always put others before yourself. Even though you hated this forest you stayed all night with that boy so he could find peace and you took the energy so you could check on your brother. That took true kindness and loyalty."

"No, that took true recklessness." Hiei said as he walked over beside me and sat down. "You didn't think about the consequences before you acted."

I shook my head and stared up at the sky. "I knew what I was risking." I said. "But if you can't risk everything for someone you love then there's no point in loving in the first place..." Hiei looked at me in surprise and I smiled back, causing him to blush and turn away.

Kurama finally broke the silence. "Shall we go back? Your brother is very worried about you."

I nodded and got slowly to my feet followed by Kurama and Hiei. They went through the woods quickly and I lagged behind as I stared around myself.

Finally Hiei turned and glared at me. "Are you coming or not?" He yelled.

I looked up. "I'm sorry!" I called as I ran forward and caught up with them. We walked the rest of the way back in silence.

As soon as we entered Yusuke's house Sesshoumaru burst through the doors and ran up to me. "Are you ok?" He asked, looking me over.

I nodded. "It was my choice to stay... Are _you_ ok?" Sesshoumaru looked questioningly at me and I answered by poking him in the stomach.

With a groan he grabbed my arm and yelled at me. "What was that for?"

I looked up at him, eyes swirling blue. "You're still hurting from what I did." I muttered.

He looked down at me. "It's ok, I'll manage." I barely caught him as he fell forward onto me, unconscious again. "I'll take care of you..." I whispered as Kurama helped me take him back inside. We sat him down on the couch and I sat beside him, closing my eyes. The others came to watch as I reopened them and they glowed entirely neon green. My hands glowed as well and I ran them along Sesshoumaru's stomach and chest. He slowly opened his eyes but I told him to stay still and he did. When I finished I collapsed slightly forward onto him and he managed to catch me. I laughed as I looked up at him. "Sorry, just got a little dizzy..."

Kurama nodded. "Healing is one of the most tiring things you can do with your energy. Do you need to take a break?"

I shook my head and stood. "I'm fine now."

Kurama nodded. "Ok, it's morning still so you should go and practice with Yusuke some. You haven't done that in a while."

I nodded as Yusuke and me left the house and went around back. We did the same as before, running at each other and seeing how I'd react, as Yusuke pointed out things I was doing wrong.

With a cry Yusuke ran towards me and I stood ready and waiting for him. Just before he reached me an enormous growl erupted from my stomach and he fell flat on his face in surprise. "Umm... I'm hungry." I said, my face bright red.

Yusuke stood and looked around. "Well, it is getting dark..." He rubbed his stomach as well and smiled at me. "And I'm pretty hungry too."

We retreated inside to find everyone sitting around eating. "Hey!" Yusuke yelled. "Why didn't you call for us?"

Botan laughed. "You were so busy training... we didn't want to interrupt you!" She turned to me. "And Sasuke has settled down happily thanks to you."

I nodded and blushed as Yusuke walked over and grabbed an extra bowl off the counter and began to eat. He looked at me and pointed to the last one. "That's an extra. Take it."

I nodded and picked it up, bringing some to my mouth. I smiled to myself as I continued. Ramen. As I ate I fingered the locket that still hung around my neck. I hadn't taken it off once since Sesshoumaru had tossed it back to me. I inserted a claw and the heart sprang open so I could see the pictures inside. Suddenly I set down the bowl and smiled around at everyone. "I want a picture of all of us together!" I cried and everyone stared at me. I left for a second to get the camera and smiled. "Please?"

Hiei got up and walked right past me but I caught his arm. "Hiei!" I cried. "I said everyone!" He stared at me and turned to go again. "But I want you in it too." I muttered and he paused. Kurama took this chance to steer him back around.

I smiled and pointed through the door. "Let's do it outside in the light before it's totally gone!" I laughed and everyone slowly followed edged on by my happy spirit.

Sesshoumaru, Yusuke, Botan, Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara, Yukina and I all lined up outside and I set the camera down so it would go off in ten seconds. "When the red light turns off it will take the picture!" I cried as we all scrambled to our positions. Everyone smiled, even Sesshoumaru slightly, as the photo flashed except for Hiei who was on the very edge with his arms crossed as he looked away.

As everyone began to reenter the house I tapped Kurama on the shoulder and handed him the camera as I pointed to Hiei who hadn't moved. He smiled and got ready as I closed my eyes and shrunk myself to four foot eight, just a couple inches shorter than Hiei. I snuck around behind him and suddenly leapt on his back, pulling his face into a grin as Kurama snapped the picture and then burst out laughing. Hiei angrily knocked me away and I hit the ground laughing happily as Hiei glared at me. "You had it coming!" I said through gasps. "You refused to smile yourself so you had to be made to!"

Kurama came over to help me to my feet. "How can you have so much energy after having trained all day?"

I shrugged. "Maybe it's because I finally ate something again!" I cried as I looked at Hiei who refused to look back. I went up behind him and tapped his arm. "Please don't be mad! I was just playing..." Hiei shrugged my hand away and I let it fall limp at my side. "I'm sorry..." I muttered as I turned slowly away and took the camera from Kurama as I trudged inside.

Kurama watched me go and then turned to Hiei. "You're making her feel really bad."

Hiei shrugged. "I don't care..." He muttered.

Kurama laughed. "Of course you do! You know her better than any of us do."

"No I don't!"

"Then how'd you know to bring her the camera in the woods?" Hiei didn't answer so Kurama continued. "You should take her out soon and begin her sword training." He said as he went inside too.

Suddenly my screams erupted through the house and everyone came running towards me. I sat in front of the glowing laptop screen and pointed to an email. "I have drivers ED coming up tomorrow!" I yelled frantically. "I don't know how to drive!"

Sesshoumaru came up behind me. "What is drivers ED?"

I turned to stare at him. "It's where someone teaches me how to drive but I still want to have some idea of what I'm doing first…"

"You say it's tomorrow?" Yusuke asked and I nodded. "Do you want to head home now to prepare?"

My face lit up. "Yes!"

Yusuke nodded and turned to the rest of the group. "We'll be back when it's over." He said as he fingered the watch. I closed the laptop and grabbed his arm and he grinned. "Bye!" He said as we disappeared, leaving a room full of people staring at where we had just been.

We appeared in my driveway and I ran up to the door and rang the bell. A little later my mom came and answered it. With a gasp she saw who it was and embraced me as Yusuke walked up behind me. She welcomed us both into the house and I went to the family room where my dad lay. He stood and hugged me as well. "I heard I have drivers ED tomorrow." I said nervously and my mom nodded.

"Tomorrow you will meet at your school at two o'clock." Mom said and went upstairs with me giving me tips.

My dad turned to stare at Yusuke. "Who are you?"

"I'm her transportation." He answered, adjusting the english translator in his ear. "She's also been staying at my house." At my dad's look he continued quickly. "She sleeps in a room with only her brother though! Nothings going on…" When my dad still said nothing he backed slightly away. "Umm… I'll be going now…" He said as he headed in the direction me and my mom had taken. He nodded to my mom as they passed in the hall and slowly entered my room.

I looked up at him as I climbed into my bed. "Hey." I said and he nodded, looking around.

"So this is your room. The room of an American." He teased and headed straight to the corkboard on the wall. He laughed and pointed to a fan art drawing of Hiei I had posted there. "He needs to see this! Did you draw it?"

I blushed. "No he doesn't!" I looked away. "And someone else drew it." I yawned suddenly and Yusuke laughed.

"I'll take that as my cue to leave." He chuckled as he went out the door.

"Good night." I called sleepily as I fell back on the pillows. Within minutes I was out. Soon after Yusuke poked his head back inside. He smiled as he saw that I was already asleep and sat down in the corner of my room near my closet. Leaning against the wall he too was soon out.

I awoke the next morning and sniffed the air. Looking over I laughed as I saw Yusuke asleep in the corner. Sliding out of bed I crouched in front of him and nudged him awake. "I'm going to eat something, you coming?" I asked and he nodded.

As we entered the kitchen Jack looked up and ran at me attaching himself to my waist. "Kira!" He screamed happily as I laughed at him.

"Hi Jack!" I finally got him to let go and followed him to the table where Megan already sat. My mom had made waffles.

"Would ya'll like some?" She asked. Yusuke and me and we nodded as we sat down and Megan stared at us. My mom placed a fresh batch in front of us and we each grabbed one and set it in our plate. As we started to eat Nick and Will came to the table, both with their hair sticking straight up. Ignoring it and not noticing Yusuke and me they sat down too and helped themselves to some food.

"Hi!" I said with a wave and they both jumped.

"When did you get here?" Nick asked and I pouted.

"You're not glad to see me?"

"Well, yeah…" Nick muttered as he slowly continued eating again. After we finished I placed both Yusuke and mine's plates in the sink and went into the basement. Looking around uncomfortably at the faces staring at him, Yusuke went after me. He walked up just as I released my dogs Bo and Tanner from their crates. They came up licking my face and I rubbed them happily.

"Aren't animals usually afraid of demons?" Yusuke asked.

"Not if they know the demon means no harm." I said. "I actually seem to attract animals." After I was done playing with them I let them outside and Yusuke and me wondered around the house for a while until my mom finally called me to leave. I waved bye to Yusuke as he watched us pulling out of the driveway.

On the way to my school I talked with my mom about recent things I had gone through since I had left and she obviously didn't believe me about the ghost. "I have a picture of me with him to prove it!" I said as we pulled up to the school.

"There's the driving teacher." Mom said as she pointed to the little white car with the sign on top. "Good luck!"

I got out of the car and joined another boy beside the car. After the initial shock of my appearance the teacher told us to get in the back while he went away to talk on the phone for a while. He came back around thirty minutes later and asked which of us had ever driven before. I had and the other boy, Chan, hadn't so I was told to get in the front seat.

Slightly shaking from nervousness I climbed into the seat and adjusted it and the mirrors before quickly buckling. The teacher told me what to do and I did it fairly well. He even took me out on some real streets to practice a bit though he didn't let Chan. Chan was having some problems with the basics.

Around six we pulled back into the schools parking lot and my mom was there waiting. The teacher told Chan and me to meet there again tomorrow at three so I informed my mom as she greeted me. On the way home I told her about it all and said that I thought I had done ok.

I got home and did basically nothing for the rest of the day. I went to sleep with Yusuke tucked in his little corner again and awoke late the next morning. Bringing Yusuke down, we had a quick breakfast and I wondered around again before my mom took me back to the school. Today the teacher took Chan and me mostly on real roads and the day seemed to go by pretty fast. I drove home afterwards and we planned to meet tomorrow at the school for the final day.

We got home and I went to bed early and still woke up late. I played video games with my brothers for a while, as Yusuke watched until my mom told me it was time to leave. Before going I took the time to laugh at Yusuke as he struggled to beat four-year-old Jack at super smash bros, unused to the game's rules.

We pulled into the school again and Chan and me climbed into the car. Today we were to go on the beltline and then to downtown Raleigh and I was chosen to go first. I was really nervous, especially when I went sixty miles per hours for the first time but I did everything well without incident. After Chan did everything too he drove back to the school and we switched for the last time as I drove home again. I was told by the teacher to get a parent to come out and talk to him so I brought my dad. The teacher told him not to let me drive in the rain but other than that I was a good driver. He explained how I was to get my permit and then he left. I waved goodbye to him and Chan as they backed out of the driveway for the last time.

Following my dad inside I found Yusuke and we said our goodbyes. My entire family went after us and watched as I grabbed Yusuke's arm and he set the destination. With a grin and a wave goodbye we suddenly disappeared, leaving them gathered and staring.


	7. Training and Beach Trips

* * *

A crowd greeted us as Yusuke and me appeared in front of his house. Everyone kept asking how it went. 

"Great!" I said happily. "I never really messed up, not even once!"

"Ok, back to training." Kurama started and my face fell slightly. "Now, none of that." Kurama said. "You've had three days off."

"And it was nice." I said with a grin.

Kurama laughed. "Ok, go with Yusuke for today."

I nodded and followed Yusuke to behind his house were we did what we did each time we trained, hand to hand combat. As night fell around us we returned and went to the kitchen. I sat and watched as everyone else ate and my gaze kept drifting to Hiei who never would look at me. _He can't still be mad about the picture?_ I thought as I spoke up. "I'm going to bed now…" With that I stood slowly and Sesshoumaru quietly followed as I got back into my makeshift bed with a sigh. I laid there for over an hour before sleep finally took me.

As everyone else started off towards bed too Kurama looked around for Hiei who wasn't there. Going outside he found him beside the door, leaning on the wall. "Why were you avoiding her?" He asked.

"I wasn't." Hiei replied simply.

"Don't lie. You were really hurting her feelings again Hiei." Kurama turned around and headed back inside to get some rest like everyone else.

Hiei stared down at the ground for a second before looking up at the starry sky. Finally he grunted and headed inside as well. He went straight to the room where I slept and, avoiding the sleeping Sesshoumaru, came to my side and tapped my shoulder. My eyes slowly opened and he pointed to my sword and then pulled me after him. On the way past I grabbed it as I was tugged out the door. We kept going until we finally reached the forest where I had met Sasuke and then Hiei turned to me. "Are you afraid to go in?" he asked with a smirk.

I shook my head. "No, I'll be ready if someone comes this time. It doesn't feel strange anymore though..."

He nodded and entered the trees. I hurried after him until we arrived at the same clearing as always and stopped.

"Unsheathe your sword." Hiei instructed as he did the same. I obeyed but as soon as it was out the end crashed to the ground.

Hiei stared at me as I struggled to lift it. "Why are you having so much trouble?"

I blushed bright red as I replied. "Sesshoumaru told me that I was supposed to get it when I was still little so I could practice..."

"Well, how can they expect me to train you with the sword if u can't even lift it?"

"It's not my fault!" I cried as I looked away.

Hiei quietly put his sword away and came to stand behind me. He placed his arms around me and set his hands on mine so he could hold the sword without shocking himself. "Shrink some," he muttered. I stood in shock for a second before going down to four foot eight again and Hiei continued. He placed his head over my shoulder and I blushed bright red as I felt him lift my arms up along with the sword. "Now hold this position." I nodded and he pulled away leaving the whole weight to me. The giant blade dropped some but I raised it back as I stood trembling, trying to keep it still. Hiei sat down against a tree and watched.

A couple hours passed and still I held the position. I glanced at Hiei hopefully but still he did nothing but watch. Thirty more minutes before Hiei finally stood again. "Is it easier to hold now?"

I stared at him. "If I say yes will I get to drop it?" He shook his head and sat back down to watch again. I sighed as I renewed my grip but kept my stance.

Morning light appeared over the trees and I closed my eyes, trying to think of anything except how much my arms ached. I jumped as a hand touched my face and I realized I had let a tear of pain slip. Hiei had come to wipe it away. "Don't let yourself be distracted from the task at hand." I nodded and closed my eyes again.

Five more hours passed and the sun was well up before Hiei finally spoke. "Look at where the sword is now." I looked up to find it straight over my head and gasped. Without realizing it I had slowly raised it higher and higher as I had begun to get used to its weight.

"You can drop it now." Hiei said.

With a sigh of relief I let go and it stuck in the ground in front of me and became thin again as I fell straight backwards. Hiei darted over and caught me before I hit and lowered me gently the rest of the way. I looked over at him. "My arms hurt." I muttered with a small laugh.

He held back a smile and nodded. "I know."

We both looked up as something came crashing through the woods towards us. Hiei set a hand on his sword but I stopped him. "It is just Yusuke." I assured him and he stared at me as I wrinkled my nose with a grin.

Sure enough a moment later Yusuke appeared at the edge of the clearing. He stopped and stared at me, lying on the ground motionless and Hiei sitting beside me. "People are worried about you, wondering where you are." He said as he came closer. I grinned up at him as his face appeared above mine. "What have you been doing?"

"Training..." I muttered.

"Can you move?"

"I don't want to."

Yusuke stared at Hiei. "What did you make her do?"

He shrugged. "Just hold her sword up."

That's when Yusuke looked over and notice the reduced blade sticking in the ground. "For how long?"

"A while." Hiei replied.

Yusuke looked at me. "Can you heal yourself?"

"I don't know..." I closed my eyes and reopened them, glowing bright green. My hands glowed too but I couldn't move them. Suddenly sparks leapt up and bounced along my arms to the rest of my body, healing as they went. Eventually they disappeared and I closed my eyes for a second more before forcing myself to sit up.

Suddenly a loud clapping rang out behind us and I spun around. A tall man with a blue Mohawk stood there with a little kid beside him who had three stars on his cheek. The kid was leaning against a tree looking entirely too bored. Another pair was watching as well. One had bright orange messy hair with a little horn right in the middle and beside him was another boy with icy looking hair and eyes.

"A very nice trick." The tall one said with a laugh.

I blinked as I stared and then turned to Yusuke. "Are they who I think they are?" I whispered.

He stared from them to me. "Who do you think they are?"

I looked back at them for a second. "The big one's Chew, the kid's Rinku, the one with the horn is Gin and the icy one is Toya!"

Yusuke grinned at me. "Yep." He stood and went to greet them. "What are you guys doing here?"

"What? You're not happy to see us?" asked Chew.

"No, I just really wasn't expecting it." Yusuke replied.

Toya looked over at me. "Who's that and what are you doing to her?"

"Her name is Kira and we're training her to be the newest member of our team." Yusuke replied as he motioned for me to come over.

Hiei helped me to my feet and supported me as I staggered over to them. Chew took my hand. "Hello love." He said. "What do they have on you to make you join them?" He said with a laugh.

"I just want to help out..." I said quietly. He nodded and released me.

"Well that's nice." Rinku said. "But I don't think you'll last long."

Before I could reply Chew reached over and whacked him on the head. "Ow!" cried Rinku as he rubbed his head. "What was that for?"

Chew looked at me as he replied. "I guess you haven't felt it yet but this young girl has far more power than you and maybe even me."

"No way..." I muttered, looking down.

Gin walked over and looked down at me. "You're a short one aren' cha?" he said quickly.

I blushed and looked up at him. "This isn't my real height!" I closed my eyes and felt my ear twitch as I heard Gin step back. When I reopened my eyes I was five foot five again. "This is my real height."

Gin laughed, his ears wiggling. "Well that's pretty neat!"

Rinku looked up at me again. "You're not full demon are you?"

I blushed again and responded slowly. "I'm almost full..." I muttered as they all stared at me.

Yusuke broke the uneasy silence. "So, what brings you out here?"

"We heard you were entering another tournament. What for?" Chew asked.

Yusuke looked away, his face falling. "They took some people from us."

Toya pounded the nearest tree and it shattered under his touch. "Those cowards..." he muttered angrily.

There was another long silence. "Umm..." I began and everyone stared at me. "The others are back at the house..." I said, my face bright red.

Yusuke nodded. "Yeah, let's go." He started towards the house but Hiei stopped me as I began to follow.

"We still have training." He muttered.

"But!" I stopped at his unwavering face and trudged slowly over to my sword. I picked it up and it grew heavy again. I turned towards Hiei and swung it around a bit with one hand. "I can lift it easily now. Can we have a break?" I asked as I sheathed it at my side.

"Well-" Hiei stopped at my scream and stared up after me with an amused look on his face. He slowly began walking back on his own.

Gin's laughter filled the air. "I heard you were afraid of heights but this is bad." He laughed as he looked down at me.

He was holding me securely in his arms but I still had my arms wrapped tightly around him with my face buried in his chest so I couldn't see anything. I felt the wind winding around us as I thought. _Yeah, the wind master..._ I raised my head slightly and looked around. With a shriek I buried my face again as Gin started doing loops through the air.

"You'll never learn to deal with it like that!" he yelled as he released me. With a startled cry, I grabbed onto him harder as I began to swing away. He gently pried my arms from around him and I fell towards the ground screaming. At the last moment Gin swooped down and caught me again and I stared up at him in shock as he set me down by Yusuke's house. Hiei came forward and steadied me as I staggered around and Gin landed with a laugh. "She needs to get over that fear!" He said with a grin.

Hiei nodded as he steered me into the house and Gin followed close behind.

"And that's the full story." Yusuke said to Chew, Rinku and Toya.

"Full story of what?" asked Gin as he leaned against the wall.

Yusuke stared at him. "I have to tell it all again?"

Gin poked a finger in his ear. "Seems that way..." So Yusuke had to retell his entire story, which happened to be about how they found me. I added little details as well as the part where I went away with Sesshoumaru and my memories of the time I fell. By then end all four were staring at me and I blushed as I looked away.

"That's an amazing story and it seems to be true..." Chew said as he stared at me.

Toya nodded. "When trained fully I would like to fight her. She seems to be a worthy opponent even now."

I looked up at him. "Really?" He nodded and my face remained red.

Hiei finally stood and grabbed my arm, leading me outside. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Your training keeps being interrupted." He replied but stopped outside the house. Yusuke, Chew, Rinku, Toya and Gin all gathered around the door as Hiei turned to me. "Let's race to the forest."

I looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

He nodded and turned around towards the direction we would be heading. "Ready...go!" he yelled as he took off.

I jumped as he ran and darted after him. "You're cheating!" I screamed as the ones by the door stared.

Gin touched his wiggling ears. "She's pretty fast doncha know?"

Yusuke nodded. "Yeah..."

I had caught up with Hiei and stuck my tongue out as I passed him. He saw me with surprise and increased his speed as well. We both reached the forest at the exact same time and slammed on the brakes. I grinned over at him. "It's a tie."

Hiei nodded. "I guess so." He placed a hand on his sword and slowly unsheathed it. "Draw your sword."

I nodded and pulled mine out as well. "Hold it up." Hiei instructed and I lifted it over my head with one hand, smiling triumphantly. I gave a startled cry as I let it drop and heard the sound of clanking metal.

Hiei had charged forward without warning and now stood smirking in front of me. "Never drop your guard! Lucky for you your reflexes work."

I glared at him as he sprang away. "Now!" He yelled and ran at me again. I rolled to the side and he missed. "You have to strike back!" He cried as he came at me again. I placed two hands on the hilt and blocked his attack, quickly releasing the sword with one hand and clawing at him. I caught the edge of his shirt and he gave another amused smile. "Good." He came at me again and managed to graze my arm with his blade. I clutched it and, seeing blood, my eyes flashed red as I glared at him and prepared for another attack.

We continued in this way until well into the next day when Gin came wondering into our midst. He jumped back in surprise as Hiei and I clashed blades right in front of him before disappearing and reappearing somewhere else with another stalemate. _I can't even track them..._ Gin thought as he stared in amazement. _They improved this much in one night?_ He approached us slowly and waved. "Hello! I was told to bring you back!" He said grinning. He fell over backwards as I appeared in his face, my eyes glowing bright red. "Back off, before you get hurt!" I yelled at him before disappearing again and meeting Hiei somewhere else.

He stared at the last spot he had seen us in. "But it was something about visiting some humans at the beach!" He cried and I stopped, catching Hiei's blade with my claws.

I stared towards Gin while Hiei struggled to pull away. "Really?"

Gin nodded as he stared in shock at me. My eyes were still glowing bright red but I had calmed down some at the mention of my family. He noted that my clothes were all ripped up and torn but noticed Hiei's were too. We were both covered in many cuts and scratches as well. Blood ran down my cheek as I replied happily. "Well, let's go!" My eyes swirled green again as I approached Gin, pulling Hiei by the sword'sblade I still held and putting away my own.

Gin laughed at my sudden change. "So, how about another flyin' lesson?"

I cringed at the thought. "No tha-" I was cut off by the surprise of Hiei shoving me in the back into Gin who grinned and lifted me into the air. "Wait!" I screamed as I felt my feet leave the ground. "That's no fair!"

As we lifted higher I chanced a quick glance below. I saw Hiei chuckling to himself as he sheathed his sword before I buried my face into Gin. He laughed at me. "You can' learn if you do that!" He let me go and I dropped a few feet before he grabbed me back up, holding me around the waist so I was parallel to him. "Now you get the full feel of flying."

I bit back another scream as I was forced to watch the ground flying swiftly past us. I blinked. "We missed the house!" I cried but Gin just laughed again.

"If we stopped so soon you wouldn't have as much fun as you should!" That said, he took off in a series of loops and turns through the air and even let me go some. I would fall a few feet before he'd snatch me back up.

A few minutes later we landed in Yusuke's yard and I wobbled into the house with Gin close behind. Everyone was sitting around the room.

I plopped down in a seat as Chew laughed at me. "C'mon Gin, she looks so beat up! What did you do to her?"

"It's fine." I said with a grin. Kurama stared at me and glanced at Hiei who shrugged and looked away. "It's helps me practice other skills too." I added as I closed my eyes. I reopened them and they glowed green along with my hands. I ran them along my cuts and scrapes and they slowly disappeared. I looked around and found Hiei. "Come here and I'll heal you too." I said with a smile.

He hesitated so Kurama nudged him forward and he came to my side. I ran my hands along his cuts and they too slowly disappeared. He stepped quickly away when I finished, as he tried to hide his blushing face. Chew pointed from Hiei to me as he looked at Yusuke. Yusuke nodded and Chew chuckled quietly as Gin grinned and Toya just calmly stared. Rinku rolled his eyes and I blinked a few times to return my eyes to normal before staring at them, missing the whole thing.

Kurama walked up to me. "Do you know what today is?" he asked. I shook my head. "It's the fourth of July."

I laughed. "Already? Do we get to go visit them?"

Kurama nodded. "If you wish."

I threw a fist in the air happily. "Alright! So... let's go!" I stopped and looked around. "Umm... who's coming?"

Chew stood. "Well, I want to go to the beach." He said with a laugh.

"And I want to soar through the air there." Gin added. "If you don' make your eyes all glowy again."

Hiei glared at him. "That was only because she was very determined and feeling slightly threatened."

Kurama turned to me. "Will you allow this many to go?"

I shrugged. "It won't bother me and we won't be there for very long. I might stay a little after you guys go back though…" I didn't notice Hiei's sudden glare towards me.

"Do you have the address?" Yusuke asked, fingering the watch he was wearing.

"Just a second!" I called as I bounded away towards my laptop. I quickly opened up the email and looked through until I found one from my mom. It was asking me to come visit and it gave the exact location of the house. I turned to Yusuke as he came up behind me and pointed to the screen. "There it is."

He stared at it for a second as the others came up behind him. "I can't read English."

"Oh! Sorry…" I muttered before reading it for him. I grabbed my bag that held my extra clothes, slipped on a new, not torn up shirt, and then returned to the others. Yusuke set the destination on the watch and me, Hiei, Kurama, Kuwabara, Botan, Yukina, Chew, Rinku, Gin, Toya and Sesshoumaru all grabbed onto him somewhere. With a sudden flurry of wind we were gone and I barely resisted the urge to cling to someone.

We landed in the soft sand that lined the driveway and slowly walked forward with me in the lead. My ears twitched and I heard splashes and shouts from around the back so we went to the side. "Hello!" I called as I pushed through the gate.

Nick, Will, Megan and Jack were all in the pool. They froze and stared at the sight of me with my sword forgotten and still strapped to my side and everyone following behind. My mom charged and embraced me. "You're here!" She cried. "I wasn't sure if you'd be coming or not!"

I pulled away and looked around. My cousins, Kelly, Andrew, Katie and Mitchell, my aunts, Debbie and Diane, my uncles, David and Berry and my grandparents were all staring at me with open mouths.

I cringed under their gazes and felt my face turning red. "H-hello…" I stammered.

Aunt Diane walked over to me slowly. "Are those real?" she asked as she began to pull on my ears. They didn't come off so she pulled harder and I yelped, causing her to let go in surprise. "They are?" She exclaimed and the others came over as well and crowded around me.

"What happened?" Uncle David asked and Kurama stepped forward to save me.

"I'll tell you if you give her some space." He said as he ushered them all away from me.

I sighed gratefully as I turned to my mom. "I don't have any bathing suits with me and none of mine probably fit now…" I muttered.

"I'll take you to the store." My mom said as she turned to my dad. "I need the keys."

He laid his book down and stood slowly to begin to dig in his pocket. He pulled me over to his side and whispered. "Are you living with all those boys?"

I shook my head. "Four of them are visiting. I am with the others though I have my own room that I share with the silver haired one." Before my dad could protest I continued. "But he's my brother and he sleeps sitting against the wall kind of away from me."

My dad regarded me for a second and stared over at everyone I had brought before handing me the keys. "Be careful around them."

I nodded as I took them and returned to my mom. "Let's go." I said but Hiei stopped me.

"To where?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes.

"To the store. I don't have anything to swim in!" I said as we walked away. "See you in a bit!"

Everyone stood there as my family all stared at them. "Well, this is awkward…" Yusuke muttered.

My ears twitched and I laughed as I got in the car with my mom. She watched as I unbuckled my sword and set it in the seat behind me. "What's that?" She asked.

"This? It's the sword my demon father left me so long ago. He wanted to make sure I was always protected." I grew silent as my mom looked away from me.

We drove on without speaking until we came to a beach store. We got out of the car and I looked uncomfortably away as random people stared at me. We entered the store and wondered around some. We stopped by the wall of hoodies to look around and the owner of the store turned to us. "If you get a sweatshirt I'll give you a free print." We nodded and I picked out a plain grey hoodie to wear. I had a worn out looking print placed on the front of dolphins jumping through and it said Outer Banks on it. We got some t-shirts with similar designs for Nick and a neighbor who was watching our dogs only they didn't have dolphins on them. We also picked out a brightly colored shirt with a lighthouse on it and a beanie baby dog whose name was Huggins. His birth date was also the same as Jack so we had to get it.

Next we finally turned to the girl's swimsuits. I fingered a bikini nervously and my mom looked at me and laughed. "Are you trying to impress on of those boys?"

I rolled my eyes at her as I stuttered. "N-no!"

She chuckled. "Pick one out and try it on." I nodded and picked out an entirely ice blue colored one and headed into the changing room. I quickly slipped it on and beckoned my mom inside to look. "Very nice." She said. "And it doesn't show too much either."

I changed back and picked out one more that was a two-piece suit but still covered my stomach. Then we went to the front to buy everything before heading out the door.

Hopping back into the car I turned to my mom, feeling my face grow hot. "Do you know which one it is?" I muttered.

She nodded. "The short dark one."

I jumped. "Don't call him short!"

My mom laughed. "You're too tall for him Kira." She teased, sticking her tongue out at me.

I glared at her and shook my head. "No way! I can change my size!"

"Really?"

"I can shrink at least… I can't go past my natural height though." I grinned at her. "I can turn into a wolf too."

She jumped. "Really?"

I nodded. "I've only done it once though and I think it was because I was almost dead yet desperate to live."

I jerked forward as my mom slammed on the brakes. I yelled at her as she pulled over but stopped as she stared at me. "What happened?"

I hesitated at first, not wanting her to try to keep me from going back upon hearing the full story but broke down under her gaze. I told her everything that had happened since I first left the house. "Maybe I should write it down so I don't have to keep retelling it…" I ended and glanced over at my mom. She was staring horrorstruck at me. "I'm fine!" I yelled. "Look!" I held out my arm and scratched myself with a claw. I placed a hand over it and my eyes glowed green as it healed quickly up. "I can heal myself if I ever get hurt!"

My mom stared at me quietly before leaning into me and crying hard. I stared blankly over her shoulder until she finally stopped and started the car up again. We drove the rest of the way back to the house in silence.

As we pulled into the driveway I heard shouts of joy from the pool. Mom and me got out of the car with the bag of things and went through the house to the back. I stopped and laughed at the sight of Gin flying Jack around slowly in the air. Megan was jumping up and down shouting for her to be next over and over again. The others stood against the fence laughing as my relatives avoided them and started off inside.

"Hi guys!" I called as I waved to them. "I'm going to go change so I can swim some too." I took the bag from my mom and changed into the less revealing suit before coming back out. The first thing I did was make Chew, Rinku, Toya and Gin gather together with me for a quick picture to remember them with. Next I dived straight into the pool scaring Nick badly as I landed behind him. I stuck my head out of the water and laughed at him before swimming back and forth along the pool. Now it was just my family and the people I had brought left outside. "Let's go to the beach!" I shouted as I thrashed around some and grinned.

Gin grinned as well and I stared at him nervously. I dived under the water as he lunged at me but he still managed to grab me around the waist and I was pulled, thrashing, into the air. My dad stared open mouthed at me and I screamed as Gin soared off with me into the distance.

"What…was that?" my mom stammered as she watched us disappearing.

"He's trying to get rid of her fear of heights." Kurama explained as he chuckled to himself. "We should go meet them."

Without a word, my mom and dad, Nick, Will, Megan and Jack all followed the group towards the beach.

"Why do you keep doing this?" I screamed as I stared up at Gin.

He grinned as he looked down on me. "I just can' imagine anyone not wantin' to fly! I'm not stopping 'til you're over it!" He declared as he started doing loops. I nodded and held in my screams as people stared at us from below. Gin waited until he saw everyone else appear on the beach below before soaring towards them. He looked down at me. "Are you ready?"

I stared back. "For wha-" My words turned to screams as he released me and I fell towards the ground. I felt him zoom past me and placed my arms over my head as I my mom gasped below me. Suddenly my eyes widened and flashed bright red as I heard Gin come to a stop beside me. I closed my eyes tightly and felt myself slowing. Reopening them I looked around to find Gin staring at me. I gasped as I saw the flat neon green rectangle I was crouching on and I grinned at the faces peering shocked through it from below. I lowered myself slowly to the ground before standing shakily and coming to the group as Gin landed behind me laughing. I spun around and glared at him, my eyes turning red, though not glowing. "Why did you do that?" I yelled and he staggered back.

"I was goin' to catch you but you caught yourself first!" He explained quickly.

I glared at him for a second before collapsing into the sand and passing out. Everyone stared silently at me before Gin finally scooped me up in his arms. "She's tired herself out!"

"It was partly Hiei's fault." Kurama said and Hiei glared at him. "You never let her have any rest after your training and it's finally caught up with her." He added.

Hiei grunted as my dad walked hesitantly up to Gin. "What are you doing?"

"I'm takin' her to the house so she can rest." Gin said as he lifted slightly into the air. "Bye!" He said with a grin as he zoomed away with me.

Kurama turned to my family as the others started walking back as well. "You should stay here for a while. You were planning to swim right? By the time you come back we'll have her up and running again." He assured them as he caught up with the rest. My family stared after them until they were out of sight and then slowly obeyed and entered the water.

As my siblings played, my dad walked over to my mom. "I don't like how friendly those boys are with her." He muttered.

"Well don't you think it's about time she got herself a boyfriend?" My mom asked and my dad stared at her in surprise. "I'm sure it's bothering her." Mom continued. "As she's going through life her friends are meeting guys and getting together and breaking up and moving on and she's just stayed the same. I can tell she's longing for someone of her own. That constant smile is just a cover up… Jack, don't throw sand!"

Dad stared after her as she went to make Jack stop. "You're right but isn't it my job as a dad to make sure she doesn't get hurt?"

Mom looked up at him and smiled. "She's a teenage girl. She has to get hurt sometime, it's a part of life."

* * *

I woke up and looked around slowly. Sesshoumaru sat on the end of my bed having a glaring contest with Hiei who sat by my head and neither noticed I had awakened. I sat up slowly and both of them jumped. "What happened?" I muttered. 

"You passed out." Hiei answered quickly.

I rubbed my pounding head. "Well, yeah, but from what?"

"Our training had tired you out and the last thing you made pushed you too far." Hiei responded again. He looked up as the door burst open and Kurama, Kuwabara, Yusuke, Chew, Rinku, Gin, Toya, Botan and Yukina all streamed in.

"Happy birthday!" Botan cried happily.

I stared at her. "What?"

"It's your birthday. You are now fifteen according to your human years." Kurama said.

"But!" I started. "That means that…"

Kurama nodded. "Six days have passed while you slept."

I stared at him for a second. "But there's no way I could've been that tired!"

"It's true you had three days off but right when you got back you battled Yusuke and then went straight into Hiei's lessons for a while. You never really got any rest during that time." Kurama explained and I nodded.

"Why did everyone stay?" I asked, staring mostly at Chew and the others.

"Well, we were worried about you too!" Chew answered with a laugh causing me to blush.

I looked up as Toya offered me a hand and tentatively took it. He pulled me to my feet. "You're family is waiting upstairs." He said and I nodded again as I followed him up three flights of stairs with everyone else trailing behind.

As I emerged into the family room area everyone stared at me as I made my way to my mom in the kitchen. "Hi…" I said quietly and she turned to me in surprise.

"You're awake!" She cried as she embraced me. "You've been out for so long!" Leading me to the table she forced me to sit down and placed a plate of pancakes in front of me. "I know you must be hungry." Thanking her I started to eat them slowly, feeling the eyes of relatives on my back.

I stood and put my plate in the sink, then turning to my mom I said, "I've been here for a while but I haven't done anything. What are we going to do today?"

"We were thinking of going out to the point and spending most of the day there."

"What's the point?"

"Two beaches that meet in a kind of point in the ocean."

I shrugged. "Ok, are we going?"

"Well, we have to get ready first!"

"Then let's get ready!" I stopped as my uncle David came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Happy birthday!" He said and I laughed as I took the cards he offered.

"Thank you!" I cried as I took out the thirty dollars he gave me. I also admired the key chain, which had the Cape Hatterus lighthouse on it and said "Outer Banks" and my name. He told me it was for when I started driving.

Soon after my aunt Diane came over with Katie and gave me a card with twenty dollars. Next up was my grandmother who gave me a blown glass lighthouse and an Ocracoke Island t-shirt with horses on it. Grinning I thanked them all and went to help my mom pack a cooler.

As I was placing some drinks inside Kurama approached me with every else behind him. "We have decided to give you some alone time with your family for the rest of the days, however few they are."

I looked at them. "So… you're all leaving?"

"We're thinking of leaving one person to take you back when it's done but yes. Do you have any preference on who it should be?" Kurama asked. I blushed and quickly shook my head, causing him to laugh. "I thought so." He turned to the rest of the group and held his hand out to Yusuke who handed him the watch. He turned to Hiei and held it out. "Would you like to Hiei?" he asked.

Hiei glared at him but glanced at me and took it slowly. "Hn." Hiei muttered and Kurama smiled as he pulled another watch from his pocket and put it on. "Well, we're leaving now." He said. "Have fun!" Everyone grabbed onto him and Sesshoumaru did after much coaxing and finally Hiei and me were alone in the game room.

I blushed slightly as I finished filling the cooler and then asked him to help me bring it to the car. "Bring it yourself!" He muttered.

"But it's heavy for just one!" I cried as my eyes swirled blue.

"You're a demon aren't you?"

"Not totally…" I whimpered. Muttering under his breath, Hiei grabbed one handle while I took the other and we brought it down the steps to our car in the driveway. My dad showed us where to put it and we slid it into the back.

I turned to my dad as I noticed my cousins packing their car too. "Who alls coming?"

"Everyone I think." He answered.

"But what about Hiei?" I asked as I nodded towards him. He looked up at his name.

My dad shrugged. "What about him?"

"Where will he ride?"

"I don't know. Grandmother and Granddaddy will be riding with us so we don't have an extra seat."

"But-" Hiei stopped me as he walked over.

"I can provide my own ride." He muttered as he set a point on his watch. In a flash he was gone, leaving my dad to stare at where he had just been. We jumped back as Hiei suddenly reappeared, his hand resting on a pure black motorcycle.

_Oh my God, I want to ride that thing!_ I thought as I stared at it.

Hiei looked at me. _Really?_

I jumped as I heard his answer in my head. _Were you reading my thoughts?_

He shook his head. _I just had to know what you thought of it._

_Why?_ He didn't respond so I asked something else. _Can I ride it with you?_

There was a minute of silence as he hesitated before I heard his voice in my head reply, _if you really want to…_

I turned happily to my dad. "I'm going to ride with him!" I cried.

My dad stared at me. "No you're not!"

My mom walked over. "Go ahead and let her. I used to!" She added with a laugh as she threw a bag into the car. Looking from me to my mom my dad finally gave in and I happily hugged him and then my mom.

"I'm going to change really quick…" I said as I reentered the house. I ran lightly up the steps and entered my parent's room. I found the less revealing swimsuit and put it on quickly, looking at myself in the mirror. It was a deep blue with black spaghetti straps and trim. Placing a t-shirt and some short shorts over it I ran back down the stairs, telling Nick to hurry up as I passed him in a hall.

He came after me as we made it back outside and he climbed in the car with my siblings and grandparents. I stuck my tongue out and grinned as he watched me approach the motorcycle. My dad glared out the window after me but I had my back turned and didn't notice. He rolled down the window. "Stay right behind us and don't get lost." He said to us.

"I don't get lost." Hiei muttered with a nod as he handed me a pure black helmet. I put it on slowly as he wore an identical one.

"Ok, we're going now." My dad called as he started backing out of the driveway. My uncle David started after him as Hiei got on the bike. I approached it slowly.

"Where do I sit?" I muttered, my face turning red.

Hiei sat down and turned to me. "Behind me."

I slowly obeyed and then asked, "What do I hang on to?"

"Me." Hiei responded as he started it. "Hurry, they're getting away."

I nodded and shrunk a bit before placing my arms around his waist hesitantly, expecting him to throw me off. Instead he rolled forward and swerved around the poles to turn around before heading down the driveway. Suddenly he hit the gas and with a startled cry I held him tighter. My face turned bright red and I again waited for him to knock me away but still he never did. He sped up and I felt my hair whipping around behind me in the wind. He began to slow down as he caught up to my Uncle.

We continued down the long straight road for twenty more minutes before I felt my head begin slipping. Without even realizing it I began resting it on Hiei's back and somehow fell asleep through the roaring of the engine.

I awoke later to someone shaking my shoulder and slowly opened my eyes. Hiei was twisted around staring at me and shaking me. I jumped up with my face bright red. "I'm sorry!" I cried.

"It's ok." Hiei muttered as he got off and I followed, looking around. We were in a parking lot. Across the street was a sandy road leading to the beach. I noticed my uncle's car empty beside us and walked to the other side of it where our car sat. I laughed as I saw everyone cramming inside. Inside the actual car were my grandparents, parents, Jack, Megan, my uncle and aunt and Andrew. The back was open and Kelly, Will and Nick sat with the net stretched across them that was meant to hold objects securely in place while in the back of the car.

Walking up to them I waved with a grin. "What are you doing?" I asked as my dad got out to make sure everyone was in the back ok.

"Trying to cram everyone in…" He muttered as he adjusted the net. "I don't know where you'll sit."

"We'll walk." Hiei said and I stared at him.

"We will?" He nodded and I looked at my dad who stared back. "I guess we are…" I sighed.

"The sand is really hot." My dad said.

"I know." I muttered, looking at my bare feet. "But I think I'll manage."

Suddenly my mom cried out. "The raccoons are coming!"

I ran to the front of the car and jumped as a raccoon came right up to me.

"Back away Kira! It could be rabid." My mom cried frantically.

I shook my head and sniffed. "I don't think so…" I crouched down as Hiei came up behind me and looked at the raccoon. It stared back at me and stepped a little closer. I held out my hand and it came and sniffed it before rubbing it with its head. "See? It's fine." I said before standing again.

My parents climbed back into the over crowded car and I walked up to the drivers door as my dad rolled down the window. "You're sure you're not going to pile in somehow?" I nodded and he shrugged. "Fine, just don't get left too far behind."

I laughed. "Don't worry, I won't."

I backed away as my dad turned the car around and entered the sandy road. The tires spun at first but he switched it to four-wheel drive and started off slowly. Hiei and me jogged up beside him and I waved. Slowly the car began speeding up and we followed, slipping in the sand with Kelly, Will and Nick all staring at us. Eventually we made it to our destination and parked the car. Hiei and me waited while everyone unloaded and I looked around. The water was pretty calm. To our right were two boys trying to surf and to the left were several people fishing. I waited for Nick and then turned to him. "I haven't touched ocean water since I got here. Will you go in with me?" he nodded and we started towards it before I suddenly turned towards Hiei. "What about you?"

"What about me?" He asked with a glare.

"You're wearing long pants and sleeves… How are you not dying?"

He shrugged. "I'm not weak like you."

"I'm not weak!" I cried as I turned towards the water with Nick again. Will and my dad joined us as we made our way into it. I dived down under the small waves and came up with my hair floating all around me in the water. "It's cold."

We swam around for a few hours as Hiei and some relatives watched from under the shelter we had set up. Finally we emerged from the water and got a snack. Jack got some pretzels from me and threw them to the seagulls, which were gathering. I turned to Hiei as I dug through the cooler. "Do you want a drink?"

He looked up at me. "I don't know."

"Well, here." I said as I tossed him a Sunkist. "That's the best kind!" I laughed as I got myself one too. He opened it slowly and took a drink as I watched him. "Do you like it?" I asked as I plopped down beside him on the blanket and opened my own.

"Yes." He muttered as he took another gulp. I shook my head slightly, spraying water on him. "Hey!" he cried as he glared at me.

"I'm sorry! I don't like being wet…" I muttered as I quickly chugged the rest of the can. Crumpling it up I went to Jack. "Do you want to touch one?" I asked, nodding towards the seagulls he was feeding.

"Yes!" Jack cried happily and I smiled at him.

Standing, I went to the gulls and stood with an arm extended. After a few seconds one was flying towards me and settled down slowly on my arm. Pulling it in closer, I stroked it's back. "Will you let some others pet you?" I whispered to it as I approached Jack slowly. "You have to be soft Jack. And move slowly."

He nodded and reached a hand towards the bird. It shied away from his touch but didn't leave so Jack was able to feel it. My mom came running over with the camera in hand and snapped a picture quickly. Nick, Will and Megan came over too and began petting the bird as well and I called to my mom. "Can you take a picture with my camera?" I held out the small camera and my mom took it and got a couple pictures with all five of us around the bird. Finally I extended my arm again and it flew away. "It needed a break from this overcrowding." I explained to the protesting siblings. "Now I'm drying off, who wants to get wet again?"

My dad called me over. "Want to fill up the raft?"

I jumped. "We brought it?"

He nodded as Akazu came over. "Ok!" he said and my dad filled it with air using the electric pump.

Holding it over my head I brought it into the water as Akazu, Naiku and my dad followed. I climbed in and waited as Nick and Will jumped in too.

"Kira, have you shrunk?" My dad suddenly cried out. "Nick is dwarfing you now!"

I nodded. "I can change my size and it felt weird riding behind Hiei while being so much taller…"

"So can you become really tall?" Nick asked but I shook my head.

"I can't go any taller than my natural height." I shrieked as a wave crashed over our heads but managed to stay inside the raft.

I laughed as Nick was washed out of it. He replied by trying to flip it every time a wave hit. He came dangerously close a couple times but never really got it. My mom came out soon and jumped in with me as Will got out. That's when we really did flip. As a waved knocked us almost sideways Nick, Will and my dad all jumped on the side together and the raft turned entirely over. I came up from the water, rubbing my eyes with my hair all over my face. Going back under to bring it behind myself I came up again laughing and jumped back inside before anyone else could. My dad released the raft and a wave hit me, bringing me to shore. I cried out as my butt collided with the shore and looked up to find one of the surfer guys staring at me. Blushing I slowly stood and walked away with the raft, feeling his eyes on me as my tail swished side to side.

Smiling, I approached my family again. "I'm taking a break." I said as I gave them the raft and sat back on the blanket by Hiei. I looked over at him and laughed.

He glared at me. "What?"

"You're all sweaty but you still won't get wet?"

He wiped his face. "No." I wagged my tail and he flinched as the water sprayed on him. "Stop it!" he cried and I did.

"Do you want another drink?" I asked finally and he gratefully accepted as I tossed one at him.

He stared at it. "What is this?"

"It's a code red mountain dew." I said. "It's another really good one." I got myself one and returned to his side.

A second later we were joined by Kelly and Andrew. "Are those real?" Kelly asked, pointed at my ears.

I nodded. "Didn't Kurama tell you?"

Andrew answered, "Yes but we don't know if we should believe some guy who looks so much like a girl."

"That's mean…" I muttered as Hiei glared sharply at him. "But everything he said is true. Kurama doesn't lie."

They stared at me for a second and then Kelly asked, "So you really have powers or something?"

I nodded. "Can you show us?" Andrew asked as my siblings and parents came over too.

I glanced at Hiei who just shrugged and stood. "Umm… back up a little." I murmured and they did. Holding out my hand like I was gripping something I thought again of a sword and one quickly rose up in my hand. My aunt and uncle and grandparents had come over to watch as well and everyone gasped. I blushed and let some people touch it quickly. "I want to try something new now…" I said as the sword sizzled into nothing. Closing my eyes and thinking hard, I held out my hands and felt something warm appear on them. When I reopened my eyes I saw a bow resting on them. Taking it in one hand and forming an arrow in the other, I placed the arrow in the bow and drew back the string, aiming far out over the ocean. I released it and everyone jumped back as it whizzed away. I blinked as I looked at it and the arrow exploded into bright neon green sparks over the water, illuminating the darkening sky. "That was cool." I said with a smile as I sat back down.

I blushed as everyone stared at me wordlessly. "Well," said my dad. "I think that can be a sign that it's getting late and we need to go. Everyone helped to pack up the car and they slowly drove away, leaving Hiei and me behind again. I sat down in the sand and stared out at the setting sun, reflecting in the water.

Hiei stood over me. "It's time to go."

I looked up at him. "I want to try to transform. I'm all wet."

"Into what?"

"That wolf." I replied as I closed my eyes tightly.

"They're going to leave us!" Hiei said but I shook my head, eyes still closed.

"They won't leave me." I lowered my head and pictured the wolf clearly in my head. It had the pure black fur and neon green scattered throughout it. A blue crescent moon rested on its forehead and two red streaks were under the left eye on the cheek. The golden locket still hung around its neck. I gasped as I began to glow and heard Hiei step back but I kept the picture in my mind. Feeling my body changing I began to open my eyes again and looked down. Instead of a cry a yelp escaped my mouth and I knew it had worked. I looked up at Hiei and cocked my head as I stared at him. My back was level with his waist.

He stared back at me. "Now how will you ride?"

I walked over to him and pressed my still wet head against his leg. _Back away or you'll get wet,_ I thought and he did. I shook my entire body from nose to tail until the water fell away and then looked up again with as close to a grin as a wolf can get. I sniffed the air and looked over to find the same surfer boy staring at me again. I whimpered slightly and backed behind Hiei's legs, peering around him at the boy. _Let's go._ I thought as Hiei and me turned to leave. I ran circles around him happily as he walked calmly through all the staring people.

Someone approached Hiei, walking a dog of their own. "How did you get all those markings on your dog?" he asked and Hiei glared at him.

"She's not a dog." He muttered before walking away. I stared at the boy before running after Hiei. He looked down at me. "We're taking too long, ready to run?"

I nodded and he took off with me on his heels. We ran all the way back to the parking lot before walking calmly across the street the last few feet. As we approached the car my mom looked up. "Where's Kira?"

Hiei pointed to me and my mom gasped as she came over. "Are you really?" She asked as she scratched behind my ears.

I cocked my head and looked at her before lightly nodding my head, something dogs don't normally do. She gasped again as more relatives came over. Kelly stopped short and stared. "What is that?"

"A wolf." Hiei answered simply and she stared at him.

"It's Kira." My mom added as she turned back to Hiei. "How does she do this?"

Hiei shrugged. "We just taught her to use the energy she showed off earlier. This comes with her being a demon, she can naturally do it."

I barked and wagged my tail as my siblings came over to pet me. Suddenly I stood and rested my head on Hiei's leg again. _I'm changing back now…_ I thought as he nodded. I backed away some more and closed my green eyes. I thought clearly of my normal demon form and slowly began to change. I looked up and smiled at everyone. "Wasn't that cool?" I asked happily as they stared.

As everyone recovered they piled into their own cars and we started home, with me on the motorcycle behind Hiei again. My family and grandparents stopped at a seafood place for my birthday and I had fried shrimp, laughing at Hiei who took it offensively. "I always have this, nothing new." I assured him while trying to get the otherpeoplein the resturauntto stop staring at my ears and tail.

We finished fairly quick and then started back to the beach house again. It was around nine o'clock so I made Hiei come down to the game room with Ncik and me. Soon Yu Yu Hakusho came on and I asked Hiei, "Did things really happen this way in real life?"

He watched it closely. "Yes, some demon must be sneaking through and telling of what goes on with us…"

I laughed. "Well, I'm glad." Hiei glared at me so I continued. "Well, even before I knew it was real it was still one of my favorite shows."

We watched the TV until around two in the morning and Hiei got to see some of the things that Inuyasha and the others went through before he met them. I got him to admit that they weren't as weak as he thought before I left to go to bed. I watched him go outside to sleep and started to feel sorry for him as I headed to my parents room. I slid onto the air mattress with Jack and tried to sleep but ended up just lying there for a couple hours. Finally I stood and walked silently downstairs past where Nick was sleeping and out the door to the pool. I saw Hiei dozing on a chair and came up behind him slowly. "Hi." I muttered and he jumped as he turned around.

"What are you doing?"

I shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Why are you doing out here?"

"Sleeping." He said, a little annoyed at me.

"Oh." I pulled a chair over beside him and sat down, pulling my knees to my chest. I leaned my head on them and closed my eyes and was out within minutes.

Hiei leaned back and looked over at me, my blank face looking towards him with closed eyes. He stared at me for a while before turning away again with red forming at his cheeks. He shifted uncomfortably before finally falling asleep himself.

My dad came storming down to the pool the next day and grabbed my arm, shaking me awake. "What are you doing out here? With him!" He screamed and I flinched away.

"I couldn't sleep and I felt bad for him-" I tried to explain but my dad cut me off.

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" He yelled and I turned away, my eyes swirling blue.

In his haste to get to me, my dad had knocked Hiei's chair over. This resulted in Hiei falling out of it and landing with a splash in the pool. A series of loud splashes were heard but then suddenly stopped and I looked over to find him drifting under the water. With a cry of alarm I sprang from the chair, causing my dad to fall over backwards, and dived into the pool. I grabbed Hiei around the waist and pulled him up after me and leapt out of the water, laying him on the side. I stared at him and then looked up at my dad with a glare. "This is your fault! What do I do?" I screamed but he just stared blankly back. I poked Hiei in the stomach with a finger and he suddenly sat up and rolled over, coughing up water.

As soon as he stopped he glared at my dad with pure hatred and stood slowly. He held out his hand and a purple fireball appeared in it. "Stop!" I screamed as he threw it at my dad. I waved my hand to the side and a little shield appeared in front of my dad causing the fireball to sizzle into nothing as it hit. I darted to Hiei's side and clung to his raised arm with pleading eyes. He stared at me for a second before turning his back to my dad and I breathed a sigh of relief. "Go away!" I screamed at my dad and he rose and took off into the house.

Hiei sat and I plopped down beside him. He glared at me and yelled, "Why did you stop me?"

I stared back at him. "That's my dad!"

"No it's not!"

"It's the only one I know! And if you can't swim then why were you sitting by the deep end?"

Instead of answering he just blamed me. "It's your fault! If you hadn't come outside then he wouldn't have pushed me in!"

I stared at him sadly, the water still dripping off my face and my eyes swirling dark blue. "You're right…" I muttered as I stood. "Today's the last day here so I'm going to say goodbye to everyone and then we can return…" I trudged slowly away but Hiei caught my arm.

I had shrunk myself again so I stared back into his eyes and he into mine. "Thanks…" He muttered before turning quickly and hopping the fence towards the cars.

I stared after him for a while before returning to the house and going inside. It took a while but I finally found everyone and bid them all goodbye with a hug. Next I found my bag and gathered up my things and sword. Then returning outside I spied Hiei leaning against his bike and tentatively grabbed his arm. With a last wave towards my mom who had come to watch, the motorcycle and we disappeared within a sudden swirling wind.

She turned towards my dad who was still complaining to her. "That boy tried to kill me!"

"But he didn't," was my mom's reply.

"No, but only because Kira made a shield with her energy!"

"Well, they're gone now. You just missed them."

My dad clenched his fists and stared out the window at where we had just been. "She's going to get herself killed." He muttered to himself.


	8. Kidnapped!

* * *

As we were walking up to Yusuke's house, Botan ran out to greet us. She embraced me warmly but quickly backed away. "Why are you all wet?" 

I looked away, my face growing red, as Hiei glanced sharply at me. "I fell into the pool." I lied.

"How did you manage to fall in?" Yusuke asked.

"Well, you know…" I answered. "Brothers can be mean."

They seemed to accept this and ushered us inside to have us tell them about it. As I talked I noticed that Gin, Toya, Chew and Rinku were all still there. They were all especially interested in the part where I shot off the arrow made of energy and when I transformed into a wolf again.

Sesshoumaru looked at me when I finished. "Could you change right now?"

I looked up. "Into a wolf? Probably…" I closed my eyes and pictured the green-flecked black wolf again and within one minute I had changed.

I wagged my tail as Kurama patted my head with a smile. "That could be useful in a fight. Wolves are quick and fierce, also smaller and harder to hit. If you could change in mid attack it would be very helpful to you."

"She can also change her size more than normal." Yusuke added.

I barked and wagged my tail as I went outside and behind the house. Everyone slowly followed me and I moved slightly away from them. Cocking my head to the side I stared at them as I grew larger. I stopped with my back level to the house and then laid down in front of them with my head on my paws.

I watched their shocked faces as they all stared at me until Kurama slowly approached. He stretched out a hand and I stayed still as he reached up to scratch beside my nose. "This could give you an advantage as well." He said jokingly. I stared at him still, laughing on the inside. He backed away and I closed my eyes, as my body glowed. My shape shifted to a girl again and when I stopped glowing I was normalsizedand lying on my stomach. I grinned as I got to my feet and rejoined them.

"So?" I asked. "How was that?"

"Good." Kurama answered. "Now you need to learn how to fight in that form. Yusuke will take you now to start."

Yusuke shot a look at Kurama. "I will?"

"Yes, we'll join you later to see how it's going."

Muttering to himself Yusuke walked away with me trailing behind him. We stopped shortly after and he turned to face me. "Are you ready? Kurama wanted you to learn to change while in mid attack so let's practice that first."

I nodded and he motioned for me to run at him and I did. I closed my eyes but suddenly was hit hard in the stomach. I fell to the ground clutching it. "Ow!" I yelled as Yusuke crouched before me.

"Don't close your eyes. It causes you to lose sight of your opponent and it leaves them an opening to attack."

"But I was picturing the wolf!"

"So? I'm just telling you what will happen. Let's try it again."

I nodded and stood to face him as he walked a bit away. "Now!" he yelled and I charged at him, leaping in the air with a punch. He caught it and right after he did I changed so he was now holding my paw instead of my hand. "Too slow." He said as he released me and I changed back. "Next time I'll strike back."

I nodded as I backed away a little and charged again. Right before I reached him I jumped over so I was coming at his side but he caught my punch again and landed one of his own in my stomach. He released me and I staggered back as a wolf again. "That might have been slower than the first!" he said.

I changed back in a crouching position and glared at him, my eyes red but not glowing. "I'm trying." I muttered.

"Trying won't be good enough in an actual fight."

"Then let's do this!" I yelled as I got to my feet again. I jumped at him but was again brought down by a punch. Growling I glared at him as I got up once more and changed back to normal again. We continued in this way until well into the night when Kurama finally came out to check on us.

He arrived him time to see my wolf form getting knocked away by a blow from Yusuke. "So you're still having trouble?"

I changed back and glared at him, my eyes still red. "It's hard to do!" I yelled angrily.

Kurama held up his hands defensively. "I know. We'll just keep working on it until you get it. I came to ask if either of you wanted some dinner?"

Yusuke immediately accepted and disappeared inside the house but I shook my head. "I have to do it at least once before I can stop." I decided and Kurama slowly walked towards me.

"Then I will be your opponent for a while." He offered as we continued the fight.

Half a day passed before Kurama grew tired of it as well and had Kuwabara take over. Still I could not do it. Soon a week had passed and it had rotated once moreback to Yusuke.

We stood our ground and faced each other. I was breathing very hard even though we hadn't moved in several minutes. I hadn't stopped for over a week and I was getting very extremely and hungry.

Yusuke looked me over. "You really need to take a break."

"No!" I yelled. "I made a promise to myself…"

Yusuke at me for a second before preparing himself. "Are you ready?"

I nodded and ran at him suddenly, leaping at him while still ten feet away. I stared at him, my eyes red and focused on the wolf in my mind even while open. My cry turned to a howl and Yusuke jumped back in surprise as I landed at his feet as a wolf and sprang up again to land on top of him. I pinned him to the ground with my paws on his shoulders and my growling face in his.

Kurama and the others had come to watch and were now staring unbelieving. "She finally did it." Said Kurama with a sigh of relief. "I was afraid she would starve herself."

Yusuke stared up at me while trying to figure out how I got there. _She jumped while normal but landed as a wolf… so that means she finally did it! _He thought to himself. "Good job." He said but grunted as I collapsed on top of him.

Kurama ran over to his side and he and Kuwabara rolled me off of him. Yusuke held his stomach and muttered, "thanks. Wolves are pretty heavy."

Kurama nodded. "She lasted just long enough to know she had done it."

"How do we get her inside?" Kuwabara asked as he stared at me, a giant black wolf with strange markings, a necklace and green speckled fur.

"We'll have to carry her somehow…" Kurama muttered as he approached me. As he set a hand on my side my eyes suddenly opened and flashed red as I stared at him. I whimpered and then transformed back tonormal before passing out again. Kurama laughed. "Well, that was helpful." He scooped me up in his arms and carried me inside, laying me on my bed while Yusuke and Kuwabara exchanged glances and followed.

Yukina approached me slowly. "Does she need healing?"

Kurama shook his head. "No, she's just exhausted herself."

They left me to rest and three days later I walked into the kitchen like nothing had happened. "I'm hungry." I announced and Botan laughed as she got me something to eat.

"You know that you did it right?" Kurama asked me and I nodded.

"That's why I finally gave in to the pain." I gratefully accepted the bowl Botan gave me and started eating quickly.

Yusuke turned to me. "What was it you promised to yourself?"

I froze and set down the bowl slowly. "That after I did it I could ask to visit Inuyasha again. I know Sesshoumaru wants to go back as well." I muttered as I stared at the bowl.

There was a long silence until Kurama finally answered. "I think that would be ok. You've accomplished a lot so far and you can take a little break."

Hiei intervened. "But she spent a full week doing one thing!" I glared at him.

"But during that time she increased her speed and resistance to pain as well. She was hit hard every time she failed. Changing that fast is a useful skill too." Kurama explained and Hiei could think of no other problems.

"Then lets go!" I exclaimed gleefully as I grabbed my sword and camera.

Hiei glared at me. "What are you bringing that for?"

"Because taking pictures is fun…" I muttered before heading outside with Sesshoumaru right behind. Kurama shook his head as he followed me and Hiei came next with a glare. Yusuke and Kuwabara came last.

When we gathered outside Yusuke set the watch and we all grabbed onto him. In a flurry of wind we were gone. I looked around the leafy forest and turned towards Yusuke. "Can I?" He nodded and I took off through the woods.

"Can she what?" Hiei muttered.

"Go visit her human family." Sesshoumaru answered as he sniffed the air. "They are nearby."

As I approached the door Jack suddenly screamed my name and leapt through to hug me. I laughed and looked up to find Nick coming towards me with a limp in his step. I went up to him cautiously. "What happened?"

"I had surgery." He muttered.

I gasped. "I had forgotten! How'd it go?"

"Ok." He said simply.

I turned to find my mom behind me. I grinned. "Surprise!" She just kept staring at me so I asked, "What's wrong?"

"I thought you had left for good when you didn't come to support Nick."

I shook my head. "No way! I just didn't know about it."

"I sent you an email!"

I rolled my eyes. "As soon as I got back from the beach I went outside and trained. I didn't stop until over a week later before I finally accomplished my goal and could no longer stand. I slept for three days and now I'm here again."

My mom stared at me, slowly nodded and finally embraced me. "We've missed you."

"I know." I stood back up. "Where's everyone else?" I looked over to find Nick staring over my shoulder and turned. "Hey." Sesshoumaru, Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama and Kuwabara had grown tired and come to see what I was doing. I smirked as I turned to my mom and handed her the camera. "Since you didn't trust me you must now suffer the consequences!" I laughed as I approached them. "A picture of me with the four of you and then just me and Sesshoumaru!" I caught Hiei's arm as he tried to run away. "No, you too."

My mom got ready to take the picture as I stood in the middle of Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara and Hiei. With a flash it was done and Hiei quickly darted away. I went over to Sesshoumaru and stood at his side next and he put his arm around my shoulder. I grinned and he gave a light smiled as my mom took another picture. "Thank you!" I cried as I took the camera from her and put it back in the tiny camera bag.

My mom disappeared and came back with the digital camera. "Stand beside Nick, Kira." She ordered.

I laughed as I did. "Oh no, look what I've started!" She snapped a few pictures of us and some with Jack before she finally let me go.

I waved as I called back to her. "See ya when I see ya!" Then we disappeared into the woods and approached the well without any more distractions. Hooking hands and leaping in we were instantly transported to the past and I smiled as I emerged, blinking in the light.

"I have something to do." Sesshoumaru said as he started away.

"Can I come?" I asked as I began to follow him.

"No." He replied coldly so I just watched him leave.

After he was out of sight I turned to the others. "Let's go find Inuyasha!" They nodded and we started walking.

About an hour later Hiei turned towards me. "Do you have any idea where we're going?"

I nodded. "I've been following his scent since we got here."

Hiei groaned. "Then why are we moving so slow?"

"Because I feel like being lazy." Suddenly Hiei punched me in the back and I fell flat on my face. "Ow!" I screamed, rubbing my nose. I leapt to my feet with a growl and took off after him. Yusuke, Kurama and Kuwabara exchanged looks before running after us as well.

I was gaining on Hiei. "Get back here!"

"I knew you were just trying to annoy me! You're perfectly fine now!" He called back. While he had his head turned something had appeared in his path. He narrowly avoided it and as I caught up to him it grabbed my hands as I skidded to a stop.

"I've missed you." I blinked and stared at him. It was Kouga!

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I sensed you approaching and couldn't help but come." He responded as Hiei walked angrily over and the others caught up as well.

"Well…" I muttered, my face growing red. "We were in the middle of something…"

"What was it?"

"We're going to find Inuyasha."

"Why do you want to see him?"

I pulled my hands away angrily. "Because he's my brother!"

Kouga nodded. "Well, I'll see you later then." He took off suddenly, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

I wiped my watering eyes and coughed before I could speak again. "Let's go." I started walking again, ignoring the whispers behind me.

"Who was that?" Kuwabara asked.

"Her old boyfriend." Yusuke answered with a grin.

"No he's not." Hiei muttered. "He's the one who pushed her through the well and got her lost in the first place."

They finished their talking and caught up with me again as we entered an old forest. I fell in step with Hiei and suddenly pushed him sideways. He stumbled over into a tree. "What was that for?" He yelled.

"For hitting me in the back earlier!" I shouted back and we both fell silent again. A little while later we saw an old village ahead. I pointed to it. "They're all in there."

As we came closer a group of armed people on horses ran to us. They saw my ears and tail and immediately went on guard. "What do you want here demon?"

I clenched my fist and stepped slightly forward. "I'm just looking for Inuyasha. Is he here?"

"What is your business with him demon?"

"I have a name you know!" I growled at them and they backed up a few steps.

Suddenly a red blur darted past them and landed on me. "Where have you been for so long?" he shouted.

I looked up and smiled. "Hello Inuyasha."

* * *

An hour later we were all gathered in Kaede's hut as I told of my recent adventures. 

"So you can transform like Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha muttered, as he looked me over.

"Yeah..." I replied hesitantly yet proudly also.

Inuyasha nodded and stood. "Where are you going Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

He turned. "We're going to take Kira around and show her some changes since she's been here."

"Are you sure that's wise Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

"Of course I'm sure." He replied.

"I can look after myself." I added as I stood as well. "Let's go."

Slowly everyone got to their feet and we all left the hut, bidding Kaede goodbye. We just started walking for a while and enjoyed the peacefulness of the green fields surrounding us. As night fell we headed into a small forest for the night and spread out around a clearing.

Morning found us already traveling towards nowhere again. Halfway through the day we stopped for a lunch break and that's when things heated up again.

"Are you Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha looked up at the feeble old man who had spoken. "What's it to ya?"

The old man paused for a second and looked around, resting his eyes on me. I scooted next to Inuyasha. "He smells weird Inuyasha. He's not human."

Suddenly the old man broke into loud laughter. "I see I've been discovered already!" His voice was now hard and cold and he began to change. His tattered graying hair became long and black and his eyes flashed to ice blue. He grew in height until he reached about six feet and his body became heavily muscled. All the while he was still laughing.

Everyone leapt to their feet and Inuyasha drew his sword and pointed it at him. "What do you want?"

The man held out his hand and a staff appeared in it. "My name is Akumei. I was sent to find you." He pointed it towards me and I backed up a few steps.

"Why me?" I yelled at him.

"You're very pretty." Akumei replied simply.

"Shut up!" I screamed back at him.

"Why you…" Inuyasha ran at him but was stopped by a force field.

Miroku stepped forward cautiously to try to break it but the man acted too fast. Some invisible force began sucking me towards Akumei and I yelped as I dug my claws into the ground butI was pulled to fast. As my feet entered the shield Miroku leapt forward and grabbed my wrist, starting to pull. I whimpered as I was held from both sides and kicked out at the man as he tried to grab me around the waist. Inuyasha ran forward to grab my other hand but Akumei tapped my leg and something ran through me, shocking both Miroku and Inuyasha and flinging them back. He laughed maniacally as he scooped me up in his arms.

"Let go of me you freak!" I screamed at him as I scratched at his chest and face with my claws. It was useless. He had created another shield around just himself.

"You're not a very nice girl." He said with a smirk as a light surrounded my body and I was paralyzed instantly.

With a cry Hiei threw several fireballs at the force field but none made a dent. Yusuke shot it with a massive spirit gun attack but still nothing happened. Akumei laughed again. "It seems you have some powerful new members but that is not enough to help. We'll be waiting for you." A brilliant light surrounded us and everyone shielded their eyes. When they blinked them back open we were nowhere to be found.

"Damn it!" Inuyasha yelled as he pounded the ground.

"I knew we shouldn't have let her come here!" Hiei said angrily to Kurama.

"We'll find her, don't worry Hiei. Be ready for any messages from her." Kurama replied and Hiei slowly nodded.

"What do we do now?" Shippou cried.

"We start walking and wait for a sign." Kurama suggested and everyone agreed.

Kouga suddenly sprang out of nowhere. "Where's Kira?" He asked after looking around for me.

"Shut up Kouga!" Inuyasha yelled at him.

Kagome called Kouga over and told him what happened. "Then I will stay until she is found." He declared and refused to leave.

* * *

"What have you done?" I screamed as I looked around. We were in some woods now and I hadn't even noticed him begin to move. 

"Quiet yourself. I simply transported us away from them." Akumei muttered as looked at me, still mostly paralyzed in his arms. His voice didn't seem as menacing now but I didn't let my guard down.

"But why?" I asked, looking up as my eyes suddenly swirled blue.

"Your eyes…" He shook his head and continued. "I already told you, you're very pretty." He sat down against a tree and left me in his lap, laying my head on his chest. My face blazed red as I attempted to move but still couldn't. "It's too bad too." He went on. "Because I was ordered to kill you or send you away."

"By… Naraku?" I asked, my fear showing in my eyes.

Akumei laughed. "How did you know? But that's not important. I don't want to kill you so I'll just have to send you away and hope you end up somewhere nice. We should enjoy the little time together we have."

"You're an idiot!" I screamed and he looked down at me, slightly surprised.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"You're trusting Naraku! Do you not know that he somehow finds a way to backstab everyone? His enemies and allies included!"

"That's because they involved the sacred jewel in things. I simply asked for a large amount of money, something he does not care for."

"No, it's because he's a screwed up psycho!"

Akumei clamped a hand over my mouth. "What are you doing here?" He asked coldly.

My eyes widened as Kagura emerged from the trees. "Just checking in on things. You're growing too attached to her." I flinched as she grabbed my face. "You should let me kill her right now." She smirked at me. "Not so tough now, are we little wolf?"

"That wasn't the deal." Akumei replied calmly. "I could kill her or send her away forever. It's my choice."

Kagura pulled away. "How very noble of you, sparing the maidens life. Fine." She pulled a feather from her hair and in a flash it appeared huge and she sat on it. "I'll be back." She lifted up and flew away into the distance.

As she disappeared from sight Akumei looked down at me with a smile. "You're making this harder by caring about me."

"I do not!" I yelled. "You kidnapped me!"

"Sure…"

There was a short silence, which I finally broke. "What do you mean by sending me away?"

"I just send you somewhere, probably to another world but I don't get to choose which one because I don't know what's out there."

"But I just returned to this world. I don't want to leave again!" My eyes turned darker blue letting a few tears fall and Akumei wrapped his arms around me, trying to be comforting. Unable to resist I could just sit there and allow it. We stayed like that, with me in his lap and he holding me to his chest, for a few more hours before I was sure he had drifted into sleep. The paralysis spell was wearing off, however I remained still for fear of waking him.

_Hiei! Can you hear me?_ I thought.

Wherever Hiei was he suddenly stopped and clamped his hands over his ears as he crouched low. _Yes, what's happening?_

_He's asleep but I'm scared to move in case it wakes him!_

_Tell me where you are!_

_I don't know. I'm deep in a clearing in some forest…_

_Send something into the air so we can find you._

_Ok!_

_I'm sorry, but that's all the time she has to talk today._ I gasped as Akumei looked down at me. His mouth never moved but I could hear him clearly in my head. _You'll have to try again some other time._

_Kira!_ Akumei placed a hand on my head and I could no longer hear Hiei's voice. "What did you do?" I screamed at him.

"Simple. I blocked everything out. I'm a telepath too you know."

I stared at him in pure hatred and shock before striking him suddenly in the face and leaping to my feet. I hadn't gone more than ten feet before something wound around my legs and I fell flat on my face. I spun around to find a shining rope wrapped around my feet with the other end in Akumei's hand.

He glared at me with those ice blue eyes as he pulled me back in. "What was that for!" he yelled as he rubbed his cheek.

I stared at him. "For everything! For taking me away from my family and friends! For threatening to send me away forever! For ending our conversation short!" Tears of frustration were streaming down my face and he made to wipe one away but I slapped his hand back. "Don't touch me!"

I almost felt bad at his hurt face but quickly decided he deserved it. "I wanted you to feel free for your last moments here but now…" Akumei stood and walked behind me, grabbing my hands in his. I tried to pull away but his grip was too strong. He dragged me backwards by my arms and set my back against a tree, tying my wrists together on the other side so they were wrapped around the tree behind me. He sat down beside me and I glared at him with red eyes. "At least I haven't hurt you." He said as he made to remove the sword that still hung at my side. He jumped back as it shocked him and nursed his hand. "Why didn't you warn me?" He yelled.

"Why should I?" I screamed back.

He ignored me and fingered the small camera bag handing under my arm. "What is this?" I didn't answer so he took it. Pulling out the tiny camera he stared at it for a second. "What is this thing?" He asked again as he started messing with it.

"Don't! You'll break it!" I cried suddenly and he froze.

"What is it then?"

"Untie me and I'll show you."

Akumei snapped his fingers and the strange ropes disappeared. I rubbed my wrists before taking it from him. "It's a camera. It takes instant pictures that you take out of it later."

"Instant pictures? Take one of me and you." Akumei said.

I jumped. "Why?"

"To earn back your right not to be tied up again."

I muttered as I got to my feet and set it on a branch. I looked through it and centered it on Akumei before returning to him. "Don't move or it will miss you. When the red light leaves it will take the picture." I cried out as he pulled me close to him and held me there so I couldn't move. I finally gave up my struggles and glared at the camera as it flashed. I rose to get it and put it back in the bag carefully.

"Wait, where's the picture?"

"I have to take it back to my world and get some people to take it out for me!"

"Why can't you?"

"I don't have the right tools."

"So I won't get to see it?"

"Not unless you let me go!"

Akumei sighed. "We both know that will not happen."

"Why not?" I shouted.

"Because that's when Naraku comes after you. If you do not do as he asks."

I looked away and held out my hands slowly as a ball of green energy appeared in them. I held it over my head and started to shoot it off but Akumei tapped me and it sizzled away. I blinked. "What did you do!"

"I will not let them find you that easily!"

"But… how did you stop it?"

"I have my ways… You're energy is trapped inside. You can do nothing more now unless I release it."

I growled at him as I crossed my arms and leaned against a tree with my back facing him. Akumei slowly moved over towards me and watched me closely.

* * *

"How do you know that he will go through with it?" Kagura asked, as she looked up from the mirror Kanna held. 

"He is too greedy to pass up the prize I have offered." Naraku answered coldly.

"How will he keep from being killed after the girl is gone?"

"Now that's not my problem is it?" Naraku chuckled evilly as Kagura glared at him.

* * *

I blinked a few times and sat up. _Did I fall asleep?_ I thought as I looked around. I leapt up with a shriek and Akumei fell over. 

He sat up rubbing his head. "What?"

I just glared at him slightly shocked. During my slumber he had crawled over and fallen asleep beside me as well and had actually begun leaning on me! "What gives you the right to touch me?" I screamed at him.

"We'll, I am the kidnapper. You can't do anything unless I wish it." He replied smugly.

With a cry of frustration I took off in some random direction through the woods but another rope found its way around my ankle. With a menacing growl I looked at him and a split second later I was the green flecked black wolf. The rope slipped from around me.

"Whoa!" Akumei said as he stared at me. "That's a neat trick!"

I faced him baring my fangs and took a step back. I leapt to the side as another glowing rope flew from behind me and sprinted off into the darkening woods. With a cry Akumei sprang after me and gave chase. _He's fast!_ I thought as I heard him crashing through the woods behind me. My ears twitched and the sounds suddenly stopped. I kept going however but ducked as a black feathered bird suddenly darted over my head. It landed in front of me and changed swiftly into Akumei and I barked as I leapt to the side at the last minute. Ten ropes suddenly sprang from his hands and wound themselves all around me and I was dragged to the ground.

Thrashing and snarling I glared at Akumei with glowing red eyes as he grinned at me. "Nice try but I am a man of many tricks as well." I started to increase my size but he tapped my leg before I could bite him and I could no longer move. He tapped me again and I changed back to my demon form, still tied up with several ropes. They adjusted themselves around me, holding my arms and legs still even though I was frozen.

"I had hoped our time together would be more pleasant." Akumei muttered as he scooped me up bridal style and carried me back to the original clearing from where we had started. He set me down against a tree and a rope tied me securely to it as my head fell forward and I pulled my knees to my chest. My arms hung tied at my side. Akumei stared at me. "Are you already able to move? Maybe I should do it again…" He reached towards me but paused as I looked up at him. My tear strewn face and deep blue eyes shocked him at first. "Why…?"

I spoke softly through cries. "I can't believe you're doing this. I haven't seen my brother for five hundred years and now that we've finally found each other again you're tearing us apart? And now I've met some more people who are depending on me to help them! Without me they could all be killed and it's entirely your fault! I hate you!" I buried my face in my knees and began sobbing as Akumei regarded me silently.

"Maybe I should kill you, to put you out of your misery…"

"Then go ahead." I mumbled without lifting my head. "But you'll want to wait for them to arrive am I right?"

I heard Akumei walk slowly over across from me and sit down against a tree. My ear twitched as a raindrop hit it and more followed quickly after. Soon it began to pour and Akumei walked over to me. Without a sound he made the rope holding me disappear and moved me into the cover of the leaves before retying me. The entire time I never looked up but only stared at the ground as the rain mixed with my tears.

A few hours later I finally ventured to lift my head only to find Akumei staring straight at me. I looked away from him and instead up to the sky from which the rain was still pouring. I blinked as it fell on my upturned face through the leaves and searched the sky until I found the moon, full and round. As I stared at it my eyes began to turn bright silver and Akumei stared at me as they changed. Suddenly I took a deep breath and began to howl at the moon. Akumei leapt to my side and clamped a hand over my mouth but I bit him and continued, unable to control myself. My shape changed by itself and soon I was the wolf, sitting perfectly motionless yet still howling with my eyes closed but facing the pale moon.

Crashing sounds erupted from the woods behind me but I continued as Inuyasha, Kouga, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippou, Kirara, Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama and Kuwabara all arrived on the scene. Still I continued howling and Akumei glared at everyone while nursing his bleeding hand.

Kouga stared from my howling form to the moon and sniffed towards me, recognizing my scent. _Kira can transform?_ "It has her under some kind of spell!" He cried aloud as he tried to come to my side. He ran face first into another shield made by the angry Akumei. "Are you the one who did this to her?" Kouga yelled at him.

"All I did was take her. She started howling on her own." Akumei replied calmly as he wrapped up his hand. He then held it out and the staff appeared in it. He reached out and poked me in the side with it but I kept howling. Grasping it with both hands he swung as hard as he could at my head as the others watched helplessly.

Right before it hit I leapt to the side and my eyes opened. They changed slowly from glowing silver to glowing red as I glared at him. "Now I've gotten your attention." Akumei muttered as I stepped forward, growling deep in my throat. My muzzle was wrinkled in rage as I advanced slowly.

Shippou leapt to Miroku's shoulder. "She's really scary!"

Miroku nodded. "I'm not even sure if she knows what she's doing right now."

With a snarl I lunged at Akumei who thrust his staff in my face. I caught it in my mouth and crushed it in half without effort as I edged closer.

"This… could get ugly." Sango muttered as she watched in shock.

"Go stop your girlfriend!" Yusuke whispered to Hiei.

Hiei glared hatefully at him. "No she's not. Shut up!"

Hiei quieted as I sprang at Akumeiwho spun to the side as my claws caught the side of his robes. He smirked as I came at him again and whipped a sword from beneath them, catching me in the chest.

With a piercing yelp I hit the ground with a thud and lay still. Inuyasha charged the shield and hacked at it with the Tetsusaiga. He backed slightly up. "Wind scar!" He screamed and the attack erupted from the blade.

When the dust cleared the barrier was still intact and Akumei had come to my side. As he approached I snapped weakly at him but he smiled sadly and laid a hand on my shoulder. "Ever the fighter." He muttered. In a flash I was transformed back to my normal demon self and he pulled me onto his lap, supporting me with an arm.

"Don't touch her!" Inuyasha screamed as he renewed his attacks.

Ignoring everyone Akumei stared at my heavily bleeding chest. A thin red line could be seen through my sliced clothes running across just below my neck. As my shirt began to turn red he shook his head sadly. "It's your own fault." He said as he looked at my graying eyes.

"Un… tap my energy." I managed to whisper.

"Can you heal yourself?" I didn't respond so Akumei laid his hand on the side of my face. I looked up at him pleadingly as he stared back at me and moved my hair from my cheek. My eyes widened as he suddenly forced his lips onto mine. Many gasps and cries of rage erupted from around us but I couldn't speak or react. When he finally pulled away I saw a tear fall from his eyes. "Goodbye, it's been fun." He looked away and then back at me. "I'm very sorry." He whispered.

I stared up at him, my vision blurring. "A…ku…mei?"

He embraced me softly. "Heal yourself when you can." A faint light enveloped me and suddenly I disappeared from sight. Everyone watched in shock as Akumei picked up a piece of my cut shirt and stared at it for a second. He moved silently over and plopped against a tree with a sigh.

Inuyasha fell suddenly through the barrier as it disappeared and grabbed Akumei by the front of his robes, hauling him to his feet. "What did you do with her?" He screamed.

"She's gone." Akumei replied sadly.

"To where?" Inuyasha yelled as he shook him.

"I don't know." Akumei said quietly. He grunted as Inuyasha's fist collided with his face and he staggered back into a tree.

Inuyasha held the sword high over his head. "Bring her back now!"

Akumei wiped blood from his lip. "I can't but as long as I'm alive she'll have a chance to get back here."

"What do you mean?" Asked Kouga, stepping forward.

"I've sent her to another world somewhere but I have no say in where she ends up. Eventually she could find herself back here again but she needs me to transport her. If the one who started the transporting dies then the victim is lost forever."

Inuyasha ignored him and charged Akumei with the sword raised and Akumei boldly awaited his fate without flinching. "Inuyasha sit!" Kagome screamed and Inuyasha collapsed just short of the target. Akumei blinked as Kagome approached him. "I can tell you miss her greatly already. Why did you go through with it?" She asked sadly.

Akumei stared at the ground. "I had no choice. If I didn't do it then he would've killed me next."

Inuyasha got to his feet again. "Naraku?" he muttered and Akumei nodded slowly. "We're staying with you until she returns and if you object you are dead!"

Akumei nodded again and sat down against a tree with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Slowly everyone sat around the clearing as well, shooting nasty looks at Akumei. They didn't notice Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara all attempting to hold Hiei back from the unsuspecting Akumei.


	9. Wolf's Rain

* * *

As I fell towards the ground my mind was too mixed up to concentrate on healing and my chest burned too much to scream. I was left helplessly hurtling towards the forest below. I screamed silently as my back hit a branch and it cracked beneath me. My ears twitched as I heard voices below. 

"Something just hit me!"

"Was it rain?"

"No! It's blood. It hit me too."

"What's… up there?"

I saw several shadows leap away from me when I hit the ground and blacked out as several branches landed around me.

I awoke in a fit of coughs and blinked my eyes open, staring at the starry sky above. "Hey! She's awake!" Called a young boy as he leaned over me. He had brown shoulder length hair and peered down at me with very innocent eyes. I thought he looked familiar but shook it off as I attempted to sit up. The boy held me down. "You're not strong enough yet." He said. "Stay still."

"Have you found out what she is?" Asked a cold voice as I heard another approach me.

With shaky hands I lifted them and laid them on my chest, just realizing someone had bandaged it for me while I slept. Ignoring that I closed my eyes and my hands glowed for a second as sparks rolled across my chest and back where I had hit the trees. The ones around me jumped back in alarm as I finished and I sat up slowly. Another boy came to my side. He had puffy brown hair and was kind of plump. He supported me as he asked, "so, what exactly are you and how did you manage to fall from the sky?"

I looked up at him as my eyes swirled from the painful grey to sad deep blue. "I-I don't remember…" I laid a hand on my head and my eyes widened. "Wait! It was Akumei…"

"What is she babbling about?" asked the cold voice again as its owner moved to my side.

I looked up at him and gasped. It was Tsume from Wolf's Rain! He had the white hair and even had the scar across his chest! I looked around me. The one supporting me was Hige and the one with innocent eyes was Toboe. Leaning against a tree watching was Kiba with his shoulder length black hair and ice blue eyes. "You look human but you smell like wolves." I muttered. "But that's because you are wolves right?"

Hige jumped. "But how would you know?"

One of my large wolf ears twitched and so did my fluffy black and green tail. "Because I am a wolf demon."

Tsume went on guard. "A… demon?" he growled.

I looked up at him with my sad eyes and nodded. "I am a wolf demon though I'm part human as well…" I said softly.

"That explains the strange scent." Kiba said as he slowly approached me.

Tsume stared at him. "You believe her?"

"Why not? We have no reason to doubt it." Kiba muttered.

Toboe came to my side hesitantly but I smiled at him and he calmed down. "I don't think she means any harm you guys." He turned to me. "How did you cut yourself so badly?"

I looked at the ground and responded quietly. "I was taken away from my family and friends by someone, Akumei, because he had made a deal with Naraku to send me away to another world in exchange for lots of money. He went through with it and now I'm here…"

"That doesn't explain how you were hurt." Tsume muttered.

I looked up at him. "Oh, sorry… Right before he sent me away I saw the full moon and changed into my wolf form. My eyes turned silver and I started howling at it and I couldn't stop myself. He tried to hit me but I attacked him. I got him once and tried to again but he pulled out a hidden sword and struck me hard. Then he sent me away. He did unlock my powers so I could heal myself though…"

"If he cared about you why did he send you away?" Hige asked.

I sighed. "He was afraid that if he didn't do it the one who had asked him to would kill him instead."

"Why were you targeted?" Kiba muttered.

I suddenly fell forward into Hige who caught me. "What's wrong?" he asked nervously.

I smiled sleepily. "Healing makes me… tired." With the last word I was out cold in Hige's arms and he stared helplessly at the others. "What do we do?"

"Leave her." Tsume suggested.

Toboe stared at him. "We can't do that! She'll wake up all alone again!"

"That's not our problem." Tsume said as he turned his back on me.

"We can give her a night to rest and finish questioning her in the morning." Kiba said. "And decide what to do tomorrow."

Toboe and Hige agreed happily and finally Tsume did as well and they all curled up in the clearing.

I awoke in the morning to find Hige and Toboe snuggled into either side of me in their wolf forms and rubbed both of their ears with a grin. They blinked and yawned awake again and appeared human once more as they sat up. Kiba and Tsume were already watching me.

"Let's pick up where we left off." Kiba started. "Why were you targeted?"

"Because Naraku hates my brother and my brother just found me and it made him happy. Naraku's goal is to see my brother in as much misery as possible so he decided he had to remove me from his life again." I stopped as a tear rolled down my cheek and my eyes swirled blue once more. "Now I have no idea how to return!" I hated to wake up miserable first thing…

"I don't believe you."

I turned to stare at Tsume. "Why not?" I sniffed.

"Let's see you turn into a wolf."

I nodded and moved slightly away from Hige and Toboe. In a flash I was a wolf again. My fur was black with the neon green spread throughout and the silver locket hung at my neck. My sword hung around my waist and the camera bag around my neck and shoulder. The crescent moon and red streaks remained on my face as I stared at Tsume quietly.

He reached out to finger the locket. "What is this?" I allowed him to remove it and he poked a claw into the lock. It sprang open. "Is this you with your brother?" I nodded. "Then who are the others?"

"That's me with Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha on the one side. They are both my brothers. On the other it is their and my dad and my mother. So I guess they are only half brothers but they didn't treat me like that…" another tear rolled down as I explained it to them by barking.

"Enough proof for you Tsume?" Hige said smugly.

Tsume shrugged as he placed the locket to once more hang around my neck. "I guess."

Hige turned to me. "So, what's your name?"

I cocked my head. "Kira." I barked.

"Kira…" Hige said, trying it out. "Well, I'm Hige and that's Tsume, Kiba and Toboe." He added, pointing to each as his name was said.

"Ok…" I blinked and changed back to normal. "Can I take your picture?" I asked with a slight smile as I held out my camera.

Hige blinked. "What?"

"Just gather together." I said and they all slowly obeyed. I plopped down in the middle of them and held the camera facing us and snapped a picture. "Now without the disguises." They turned into wolves and I took another picture before crawling away. "Thank you very much." I said with a slight bow as I put away the camera again. "Now what were you all doing out here last night?"

"Searching." Kiba replied.

I looked at him. "For paradise?" I whispered and he nodded and I sighed. "Just being with my brothers and friends was paradise to me…"

"Well, goodbye." Said Kiba as he stared walking away.

"But you can't leave me here!" I cried out.

"Yeah Kiba, she's lost in a new place." Toboe said.

"She's a wolf. She can handle it." Kiba replied.

"But she's also part human. You know how bad they are!" Hige argued back.

Kiba turned and regarded me for a second before nodding and turning away. "I guess she could tag along…"

I leapt to my feet happily. "Oh thank you!" I cried as my eyes swirled emerald green again. I flinched away under Tsume's glare as he followed Kiba and I went with Toboe and Hige behind the both of them.

After about an hour the forest suddenly ended and we stopped at the edge to look around. Ahead all that could be seen was a desolate plain of nothing but stretches of desert. Kiba stepped from the cover of the trees and we all slowly followed. I stopped and sniffed the air. "Do you guys smell that?" I asked. They shook their heads. "Well, it'll hit you in a second."

We went on a bit more and suddenly stopped again. "I smell it now." Tsume said.

"What is it?" Toboe asked.

"Gunpowder." Kiba answered.

"Those stupid humans are killing each other again." Tsume muttered.

"Figures." Hige sighed.

"Are we going into it?" I asked.

"Yeah." Kiba nodded and started walking again. Everyone followed and we stopped once more at the top of a hill, staring down at a town blackened by the smoke of fires. Kiba broke into a run and sped towards the town. All of us quickly followed and leapt into the fray. I stood back as the boys took out several soldiers within the first few minutes.

"Aren't you going to help?" Tsume yelled at me as he bit a man in the neck.

I shivered as the blood sprayed. "I can't!" I cried.

"Humph, some wolf you are." Tsume muttered before speeding away again.

"Hey!" I yelled as I followed after him. I slammed to a stop as a soldier jumped in front of me and fired a shot. I dove to my knees and narrowly avoided it. I ran forward and punched him in the stomach before running past.

"You won't survive by doing just that." Tsume said as he killed another man.

"I'll take my chances." I cried as I kicked one myself, knocking him out. "Where did the others go?"

Tsume looked up ahead. "Your slowing me down, they're way ahead of us!" He cried angrily.

"Then start moving faster! I can keep up!" I yelled back.

Taking my advice Tsume sped away and I darted after him. As he went across a street a soldier popped from around a building and stopped in front of me. He aimed his gun and I froze in fear. The shot went off and I screamed but Tsume darted in front of me at the last minute and the bullet pierced his leg. He fell to his knees and I crouched beside him. "You didn't need to do that!" I screamed at him.

"I don't know why I even bothered for you." He muttered as he clutched the wound. With a snarl I leapt forward and hit the soldier in the face, knocking him aside with the force of the blow. I returned quickly to Tsume and offered him a hand. "I don't need any help." He mumbled as he stood on his own.

As he started to fall I caught his arm and placed it around my shoulders. "Come on." I said as I helped him quickly with me. The two of us ran awkwardly through the burning city until we met up with the others. They ran around us and we charged right over and out of the city's walls stopping finally a good distance away.

Tsume collapsed panting onto the ground and everyone gathered around him shooting an occasional accusing glance at me. "What happened?" Kiba asked.

Tsume didn't respond so I did instead. "A soldier fired at me but Tsume jumped in front." I muttered.

"This Tsume?" Hige asked but quieted at the glare he got from Tsume.

I crawled over to Tsume's side and stopped beside him. "I'm really sorry." I started. "Want me to heal it for you?"

Tsume shook his head. "No thanks." He said sarcastically.

I sighed quietly. "Please?" I asked again. "It's my fault you're hurting..." He stared at me but said nothing so I placed my hand on his leg. It and my eyes glowed neon green and the wound slowly healed itself and closed back up. I sat back with a smile. "There we go, all better."

Tsume stared at me and then stood up slowly. "How is it?" Toboe asked.

"It's fully healed." Tsume said in surprise. He turned to me. "Thanks."

I was taken by surprise for a second but then smiled warmly up at him. "No problem! It _was_ my fault to begin with…" Suddenly I grunted and fell forward to my hands and knees and stared at the ground blankly.

"What happened?" Kiba yelled.

"I don't know she just fell over!" Hige cried as I closed my eyes and grabbed my head tightly with both hands.

I began to whimper but stopped as I heard a familiar and soothing voice. _Kira? I have been searching for you all day!_

I blinked a few times as the others stared. _Akumei? _I thought, my head pounding.

_Yes._ Answered the voice in my head. _I knew once you were gone I would feel horrible but now that it's done it's almost unbearable! Nothing is worth it anymore… Plus all of your friends have surrounded me. The little one with red eyes is barely being held back. _

_Why haven't they killed you?_

I heard him sigh. _You wanted them too?_

_No, I just expected it._

_I told them there was a chance to bring you back._

_There is!_

_Yes, as long as I'm alive and able to find you. Then I can keep transporting you to other worlds until you end up back here. So don't die out there. Where are you now?_

_How am I supposed to know? It's sometime very far into the earth's future. I'm with a pack of wolves._

_Ok, are you ready to switch worlds again? I can't contact you if you're asleep or unconscious though…_

_So I'm not allowed to sleep?_

_You can just in very short spurts._

_So how long will it take to get back home?_

_I have no idea. It's a big game of chance. Your brother might kill me before I manage it… or maybe Naraku. I am going against everything he wished for me to do right now. But again, are you ready?_

_Yes. _I thought firmly.

_Ok, prepare yourself._ That's the last thing I heard Akumei say.

I turned to the wolves, who were still staring at me. "It was Akumei."

"What?" Asked Tsume.

"He's able to speak to you in your mind. He just did to me. He said he's trying to get me back there."

"Why would he help you now?" Kiba questioned.

"She said he didn't really want her to leave in the first place." Toboe replied and I nodded.

"My friends have also surrounded him." I added. I gasped as a light surrounded me. "Goodbye! Thanks for putting up with me!" I said with a smile. "Maybe we will meet again?" in a flash I was gone leaving the wolves to stare at an empty clearing.

"Did that really happen?" Hige asked scratching his head.

Kiba nodded. "Her scent is still strong and she left behind some fur."

"And she definitely healed me just now." Tsume added reluctantly.

Kiba turned away. "She may be returning to her paradise… Let's go find ours." They all slowly trotted away leaving behind the silent wasteland where I had just been.

* * *

Akumei fell back against the tree with a satisfied look. Inuyasha glared at him. "What?" 

"I found her."

"What?" screamed Inuyasha, springing to his feet. "Where is she then!" The others gathered closer to hear.

"She had made herself at home with a small pack of wolves or so she said." Akumei replied. "I have transported her again. She may end up here but probably not. I will keep transporting her and then finding her again until she ends up back here." Akumei closed his eyes and leaned back against a tree with a sigh.

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha asked.

"Transporting makes me tired so I'll rest while she lands and adjusts to her surroundings. By the time I'm ready again she will be too."

Inuyasha glared at him again before plopping down to wait impatiently. Kagome came to comfort him sympathetically while wishing in her mind that Akumei would hurry. She glanced over at his still form and sighed. _I guess he's trying…_


	10. Fruit's Basket

* * *

My piercing scream filled the air as I fell headfirst towards the ground below. I closed my eyes and placed my arms over my head, as I was about to hit. "What's that?" I heard someone below me shout. Then I hit something and grabbed onto it, though it was not the ground I had expected. I had been caught in someone's arms. I looked over into the face of a bright orange haired boy with similarly bright eyes. He stared at me in shock for a second before I leapt back in surprise. The boy had turned into an orange cat! I stumbled back and someone supported me before I fell. I turned around and my eyes widened as I peered into the face of a grey haired and purple eyed boy. 

He smiled warmly back at me. "Where did you come from?"

I stared around to find the cat being held by a brown haired girl who was comforting it. It hissed and glared at me and I just stared back. "Are you… Yuki?" I mumbled to the grey haired boy.

He looked back at me in surprise. "Yes…"

I turned to the cat and girl. "And you're Tohru and Kyo?"

The girl, Tohru, looked shocked. "Yes. Do… I know you?" I shook my head. "Then how do you…?"

"I can't explain it right now…" I flinched as a crowd began to gather and stare at my ears and tail. "Can we get away from these people?"

Yuki nodded and took my hand, leading me away as Tohru followed with Kyo's clothes. Kyo padded up ahead of us. We journeyed into the woods a bit and came to a house. Someone came out on the porch to greet us. "We have a visitor?" He asked casually but then stopped to get a better look. "What… are you?" I blushed deeply.

"Don't be rude Shigure." Yuki scolded before leading me into the house. We all kneeled down around a low table. Suddenly Kyo changed back into a human and Tohru and me clasped our hands over our faces quickly. He grabbed up his clothes and left muttering to himself as Shigure chuckled.

Tohru and I recovered as Yuki spoke up. "How do you know who we are and where did you fall from?"

I blushed and looked down at the floor, fidgeting my hands in my lap. "Where I come from you are all characters in a book called Fruits Basket… I know you from that."

"What are you talking about?" Hissed a newly dressed Kyo as he reentered the room.

"It's true!" I insisted.

"Maybe so… But then how did you get here?" Yuki asked.

"I was sent here…" I then proceeded in telling them all that had happened since I had returned to see Inuyasha and we had gone for that walk and how Akumei had kidnapped me and taken me away. I left out the part when I had met Kiba and the others. "And now I'm here…" I finished.

They all stared at me for a second. "Are we really supposed to believe that?" Kyo muttered.

"Well why not?" I asked. "I mean, how else would I just fall out of the sky like that?"

"She has a good point." Shigure said.

"Shut up! You weren't even there!" Kyo yelled. "Let's see you transform then!" He added to me.

"Don't yell at her, she's lost!" Yuki said, with a punch that sent Kyo flying.

I held back the urge to run to Kyo's side and remained sitting. "It's no trouble…" I closed my eyes and when I reopened them I was the black and green wolf sitting calmly in the middle of the room. I lowered my head and tried to hide from all the shocked stares. Tohru couldn't resist reaching over and scratching my ears as I was sitting in between her and Yuki. I wagged my tail and panted slightly.

"I knew we had a connection." Shigure said suddenly.

"She's a wolf, not a dog." Yuki said.

"But still, what is she exactly?" Kyo asked, nursing a bruised cheek.

Yuki glared at him but I changed back suddenly to divert the attention. "I'm mostly a wolf demon though I have a little bit of human in me." I said quietly. "So I'm not quite full…"

"A demon…" Kyo muttered. "Then how do we know we're safe with you here?"

I glared at him angrily. "Not all demons are evil!"

He flinched as my eyes turned red. "Ok!"

"So… what do you do now?" Yuki asked. "Wait for Akumei to contact you again?"

I nodded. "And I need something to keep me awake until that happens. He can't contact me if I'm sleeping or unconscious."

"Well, it's still bright out. Do you want to go for a walk?" Tohru asked happily.

"Well… what about my appearance?"

"Come with me." Said Yuki as he stood and left the room. I slowly followed him down the hall into another room. He went over to some drawers and pulled out a shirt. "Yours is ripped in the front and this one is pretty long to hide your tail."

I blushed deeply and took it from him. "Thank you…"

He dug around a little more and pulled out a baseball cap. "I never wore this anyway." He said with a smile as he handed it to me as well. "You can change in there." He pointed across the hall into a small room and I nodded and entered. I slipped on the collared, button up shirt and adjusted the hat on my head so my ears were hidden and pressed down.

Yuki met me in the hallway and we returned to the others. "Why are you making her wear your clothes?" Kyo asked.

"It's alright! I just needed to get out of this…" I muttered as I held up my baggy ripped shirt. I wrapped my tail softly around my waist and tugged the end through a belt loop before pulling the shirt down all the way to hide it. I looked up and smiled at everyone, setting my sword against a wall. "I guess I'm ready. Sorry for the trouble…"

"It's fine." Yuki said as Tohru and Kyo stood.

Shigure followed us as we headed outside. "You know this would make a good story."

I laughed. "Umm… ok. Oh!" I added. "Can I take everyone's picture?" I held out my camera. "I might not be here when we return."

"What for?" Kyo asked with a glare.

"So I'll have proof that I saw you. I need a picture of everyone I meet during this world switching crap I have to do."

Slowly everyone agreed and all huddled together as I set the camera down. I jumped in with them before the red light disappeared and the picture took. I picked it up and put it in the bag again with a grin. "Thank you very much."

We waved goodbye to Shigure and wandered around town for a bit. I met other members of the Sohma family while we were out as well.

As we were walking two actually found us right away. "Yuki! How have you been?" asked a white and blacked haired boy as he came towards us. I recognized him as Hatsuharu from the book. He paused and stared at me as I lightly blushed. "And who's this?"

"This is Kira!" Tohru exclaimed happily. "She came from another world."

I jumped at Tohru's straightforwardness and watched Haru warily as he stared back. I jumped again as something began tugging my tail free. I spun around to see a blonde boy, Momiji, pulling curiously at my tail.

He looked up at me and grinned with big blue eyes. "So you really are from a different world!" Slowly I nodded as he continued playing with my tail. I glanced around, letting out a sigh of relief at the sight of empty streets.

I tensed as I felt someone else now pulling my tail as well. "Hmm…" I snatched it away from Haru's grasp with a red face. "What?" He asked. "You're letting him play with it." He said, referring to Momiji.

"But he's different!" I started but Haru interrupted me.

"You look like a fighter."

I paused and stared at him for a second. "What? No I don't!"

"But you are one right?" He continued. At my silence he smiled triumphantly. "I knew it. Let's have a quick fight."

"What? In the middle of the sidewalk?" I exclaimed.

"Haru, you don't challenge random girls to battles!" Yuki sighed.

"Then you fight me Kyo." Haru suggested.

"Not on your life." Kyo spat.

There was a pause and Haru looked down at the ground. His body slightly shook and he looked up again with a strange glint in his eyes. He smirked and leaned right up against Yuki. "Well I'd rather fight the girl anyway. They're a lot more fun to fight than guys…"

"What do you mean?" I asked, my face growing red.

"Oh, you know what I mean. I can see it in your face. Let's make a bet. If I win you have to do _something_ with me." Haru said, leaning in towards me.

My face grew crimson as Tohru's looked blank as well as Momiji's. "What's he talking about?" Tohru asked.

"Kira, do not accept." Yuki ordered angrily and Kyo screamed at him in rage.

"I-I wasn't planning to." I stammered, leaning away from him. "I-is this black Haru?" I added in a whisper.

"Yes, and I'm going to pound his face in!" Kyo screamed, lurching forward. Haru ducked to the side and slipped behind me, whipping off the hat. The two ears popped up and Momiji's eyes sparkled at the thought of playing with them. Haru grabbed one in each hand and began massaging them, smirking as I melted into him.

"Kira, don't encourage him!" Yuki yelled.

"I can't help it… It's the ears..." I sighed with a red face.

If the others went near to try to separate us, Haru would move so I was always in the middle and there were no openings to attack.

"Stop…" I said in a whisper, with closed eyes. I felt ready to collapse and leaned on Haru to support myself, only making him happier. Despite my position I couldn't deny how good it felt to have my ears rubbed. Slowly I managed to raise an arm above my head. I quickly let it drop, draped around Haru's shoulders and lightly squeezed. Haru smiled at first but then realized what I'd done.

He opened his mouth to speak but instead of words, the moo of a cow came out. I fell to my knees, turning to see a large black and white cow staring down at me. I breathed a sigh of relief as Momiji came playfully forward and began tugging at my ears.

"Kira, are you ok?" Yuki asked, helping me to my feet. "I'm really sorry."

"It's ok…" I said in an almost whisper, my face still bright red. I looked around to see everyone's reactions. Tohru was totally confused about what had just happened, Kyo was blushing at what Haru had done, Yuki was making sure I was alright, and Momiji was still playing with my ears. I shot a weak smile at him before retrieving the hat and placing it back on my head. Next I hid my tail again as well.

A few minutes later the cow disappeared in a poof of smoke and Haru appeared in its place. My face turned crimson as I buried my face in my hands and Kyo forced Haru to quickly dress again.

A fully dressed Haru stood and looked around at everyone. He made eye contact with me but I quickly turned away, my face seeming to be permanently red. "Did… I miss something?"

"It was your fault you idiot!" Kyo screamed, landing a blow to his face.

A few minutes later found us saying our goodbyes with Haru holding a bruised cheek and wondering why I blushed every time he looked at me. I did get up the courage to snap a picture of him with Momiji though.

We continued walking but soon more trouble found us. "Yuki!"

Yuki froze, placed his hand on his face and spun around in the opposite direction but he was too slow. A person identical to Yuki but with longer hair came forward and tugged on his sleeve. "I am here to work on our brotherly bond!"

"Well you're the only one." Yuki replied coldly.

The man, who I knew as Yuki's older brother, Ayame from the series, turned towards me. "Ah, and who is this?" He asked, taking my hand and planting a light kiss. "I feel a strong connection to her! What year were you born in young lady?"

I blushed lightly at his actions. "1989, the year of the snake…" I said reluctantly.

"I knew it!" Ayame cried triumphantly. He looked me over carefully. "Why do you wear such boy clothes that hide your body? You must come by my shop immediately!" He took my hand and started pulling me away but Yuki hit him soundly on the head.

"Leave her alone." He said, pulling me away. "Kira, he's dangerous. Don't go near him."

"I didn't mean too…" I stammered.

"Why are you hiding your face under this hat?" Ayame cried suddenly snatching the hat from my head. I froze as he stared at me for a moment before quickly recovering. "What cute ears! Now you really must come by my shop!"

"I don't want to!" I cried, covering the ears with my hands.

"Even if I gave you something free?" Ayame asked.

"Yes." Yuki answered decidedly for me.

Ayame's head drooped for a moment before he perked again and I snapped a surprise picture but he didn't even flinch. "Very well. I have some business to attend to. Good day!" He cried before handing me the hat and walking quickly away.

I blushed lightly as I placed it on my head. "He's my year…" I muttered.

"At least he's not your brother." Yuki sighed before we continued walking again.

Once again we hadn't gotten very far when another interruption occurred. "Kyo!" A girl's voice called. I snapped a picture as she approached.

I saw Kyo's body go rigid as he turned and saw who it was. He started to run and got a few steps when the girl, Kagura, slammed him to the ground by landing an elbow to his back. I jumped and stared wide eyed as Kagura then started caressing him lightly. "Oh Kyo, are you ok? What happened?"

Tohru and I just stood staring as Yuki sighed and shook his head. "You came on a very busy day it seems…" He said with a slight smile towards me.

"Yeah…" I nodded, staring as Kyo started to come to.

Kagura stood and faced me cautiously. "Who are you?"

"Me? My name's Kira…"

"You're living with Kyo too?"

"No!" I exclaimed, my face turning pink. "I'm just visiting for the day!"

"Oh, ok…" Kagura said before turning to Kyo. She hugged him tightly and as he gasped for breath said, "Well I have to go somewhere Kyo. I'll see you later!" She giggled as she skipped away.

Kyo staggered to his feet and muttered, "Let's get out of here before she comes back…" We all headed away fairly quick.

A few hours later we headed back to the house as darkness fell about us. Walking towards the front door my ears twitched under the hat and I heard voices. I froze and the others stared at me. "What's wrong?" Yuki asked but I placed a finger over my lips and he quieted.

"I heard about that demon girl you found today." I heard a man saying.

"Yes but if her story is true it won't matter that she knows our secret because she won't be here for long." Shigure answered.

"But what if she's lying?" The man added.

"I don't think she is but she's kind. She reminds me of Tohru. I don't think she'd do anything to harm any of us or spread the secret." Shigure concluded.

I blushed and started back inside as the others caught up watching me weirdly. Yuki opened the door and we all stepped inside.

The man looked up. "Hello."

"Welcome back." Shigure added. "I see she's still here."

"Yes, I'm sorry." I said. "I thought I'd be gone by now."

"It's ok." Replied Shigure as he called me over.

I went to his side and spoke before he could. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone your secret." I whispered.

He stared at me. "How did you know I was going to say that?"

I took off the hat and my ears popped up. One of them twitched and I smiled softly. "I could hear you from outside. Sorry I was listening in…"

Shigure looked at me for a second before laughing. "It's ok, I don't blame you. I blame those ears on your head."

I touched one self consciously as I looked at the floor. Tohru came warmly to my side. "Do you need a room for the night? We could share mine."

I smiled and shook my head. "No thanks. I'm supposed to be staying awake."

"But everyone needs sleep!" She insisted.

I laughed. "Don't remind me. I'll just… I don't know, hang out outside until he contacts me."

"No need, we'll keep you awake tonight." Shigure offered.

"How?" Kyo asked sharply.

"We'll just sit and talk. Maybe she can tell us more about her life. Like is the green in the hair natural?" Shigure joked. "What did you think I'd say?" Kyo just glared at him.

I laughed nervously as I ran my fingers through my hair. "I don't want to keep you all up…"

"But you don't want to miss your friend either." Yuki added.

"I guess you're right…" I muttered.

"Then it's settled." Cried Tohru happily. "We'll all stay up with you tonight!"

"Not you school goers." Shigure said. "You need rest to do well."

"It's Saturday!" Yelled Kyo.

"Is it really?" Shigure asked, scratching his head.

Yuki sighed before turning to me. "So tell us, what is your life like?"

"One thing before I tell you all." I said, turning to the man who Shigure had been talking to. His name was Hatori. "Can I please have a picture of you?"

"What for?" He asked hesitantly.

"Well… because I'll probably never see any of you again so I want something to remember everyone I meet by." After a while Hatori agreed and I snapped a quick picture before turning to Yuki to answer his question. "Well, I didn't even know I was a demon until less than a year ago…" I began but Kyo interrupted me.

"How could you not know?" He laughed.

I shifted uncomfortably and Yuki shoved him back into a wall. Tohru went to him as Yuki led me into another room where we all sat down. I continued, "My brother, Inuyasha, came to my house and got me. When I remembered him I turned back into half of my demon form. My claws and fangs weren't as long. Plus I didn't have these markings or my tail. He took me to my other brother, Sesshoumaru, who changed me all the way back. My hair was only black then…"

I paused to unwrap my tail from my waist and Tohru spoke up. "How did you get separated?"

"I was waiting for someone by a well and someone else pushed me as a joke. I fell in and was brought to America somehow. This part I still don't get, I got some disease that had no cure and died shortly after." I continued before they could argue. "Then for some reason I was born into a human family with no knowledge of my other life. My old body had also disappeared. That continued for a while until Inuyasha found me. They came into my room and injected me with the cure and picked me up from the hospital later."

"How did they have the cure?" Shigure asked.

"Well, there were some others with my brother and his friends. The others needed me for a different reason so they made a cure and just happened to find me on the same day."

"What was the reason?" Asked Tohru, totally captivated by what I was saying.

"Every time I died my spirit energy went up inside of me and it has built up to a dangerously high level. They had been gathering it for me so I wouldn't hurt people by accident if it became too much for me to handle. They came to have me fight in a tournament with them and they chose me because, even if human, with all that energy I would be very powerful. But before I could use it they had to get it back inside me. To do that they took all my gathered energy, which was about the size of a basketball, and it forced its way inside of me. It hurt so bad that it almost killed me and it destroyed an entire stone room and badly injured my brother before I had absorbed it correctly. There was so much it shows in my hair and that's why it has the green flecks throughout it."

"If the energy could do that much then why'd they waste it on a girl?" Kyo scoffed.

I smirked at him. "Because it's mine and I can do quite a bit with it already. Want to see?"

He looked at my face and hesitated. "I don't know…"

Yuki rolled his eyes. "How did it hurt your brother?"

My eyes swirled blue as I responded. "I couldn't contain it, there was too much. It slowly tears you apart from the inside out if you can't do it. Usually they'd take it back out if the person can't handle it but I had so much that sparks and streaks of energy would fly off and hit things. Like… there were trees in the room. Some got hit and exploded on impact. Sesshoumaru, my oldest brother, came forward when he saw I was dying and explained to me why I had accepted to do it early in the first place. I was supposed to wait until I had trained more. He got hit by a stray bolt and was instantly knocked out. He is a very powerful demon too… But that's how I learned to change into a wolf. When he was struck I changed for some reason and then healed him so he didn't die."

"What was the thing that made you do it?" Tohru asked.

"Inuyasha was in trouble. I kept having dreams of him dying and I knew it was true. Afterwards we returned to see him and it really was. He was facing Naraku, the one who's fault it is that I'm even here and he was human."

"I thought you said your brothers were demons." Kyo commented.

I nodded. "But he is a half demon so on the night of the new moon he changes to human again. He can't even use his sword when he's like that so he was a sitting target for Naraku. I came to help with some of the people who I was to fight with and we saved him and his friends." I laughed. "But remember I'm not totally full demon so I change back human for about half of the night of the new moon so I changed, luckily, right after the battle and since my spirit energy isn't a demonic power I was able to heal a few people."

"So is that when Akumei took you away?" Yuki asked.

I shook my head. "No, I returned to my most recent human family after that and we went to the beach for a week. The bad part is that I was asleep for all of it but one day."

"How could you sleep that long?" Kyo questioned.

"I had trained non stop for several days and had finally reached a limit. I passed out while on the way to the beach so they had to carry me back…" I smiled to myself as I remembered that Gin had dropped me and forced out the last of my energy. "After the trip I went back to the tournament people and I trained for a week straight with absolutely no breaks during that time."

Tohru stared at me. "What were you doing?"

"Mastering my ability to change into a wolf while in mid attack. I will be fighting heartless demons during the tournament so I have to be ready for anything. They won't take me seriously so I'm just adding to my list of advantages by learning new tricks." I laughed. "I've only done it once though because as soon as I did it right I collapsed and had to be carried inside."

"By why for a straight week?" Tohru continued.

"I had promised myself that once I managed it I would have earned the right to ask them to take me to my brother again. It was after I visited him when I was kidnapped by Akumei so maybe I shouldn't have…"

Yuki shook his head. "No, it sounds like he would have just waited for you to come no matter how long it took."

I sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"What exactly is spirit energy? Can you see it?" Kyo asked.

I grinned at him. "Yep. I've gotten so much control over it that I can form it into anything I want! I've made fireworks before except the only color I can make is green. My energy is green and I can't change it." I held out my hand and stared at it for a second. Everyone jumped as my eyes glowed green for an instant and a neon green ball appeared in my hand. I opened my hand wider and the ball increased in size until it was about a basketball's height.

"What is that?" Kyo yelled.

I laughed at him. "It's some of my spirit energy in the shape of a ball." I handed it to Yuki who turned it over in his hands.

"It would seem solid except for the sparks." He said as another spark leapt off the surface.

Tohru stared at it wide eyed and hesitantly touched it. "It's warm." She discovered.

"May I?" The man, Hatori, said suddenly as he took the ball from her. I jumped having forgotten that he was still here. "Interesting…" he muttered.

It sizzled suddenly into nothing and Tohru turned to me. "What's wrong?" She asked urgently.

I had suddenly leaned forward so I was sitting on my knees with my head bent forward resting on them. I held both sides of my head tightly. "It's Akumei." I whispered.

"Everyone stay quiet." Yuki murmured as everyone stared at me.

_Kira? Kira are you there! _Akumei's voice sounded faintly in my head.

_Akumei! I can barely hear you!_

_It took me a long time to find you this time. Where are you?_

_I'm with some people in their house. They took me in and offered to keep me awake so I wouldn't miss you._

_But where is their house?_

_In Japan._

_Japan? Does that mean you can find your way here?_

_No, I have no clue where I am or what year it is here. Plus the entrance to your world is in America._

_Ok, get ready to leave then. I'm going to have to do it quickly before I loose you again._

_Ok, I'm ready!_

_Don't move from that spot! _He added and I heard no more. I slowly sat up. "I have to get my things quickly!" I cried. "But I can't move or he'll loose me again!"

"Where are they?" Asked Yuki as he got to his feet.

"By the front door but don't touch the sword's handle. It will shock you!"

Yuki nodded and went to get the sword before returning to me. "Hurry!" Tohru cried as I started to glow.

Yuki crouched beside me and hooked the sword around my waist. He took the camera from me and slipped it around my shoulders as well. He then took my hand but I pulled away, explaining why quickly because of his hurt face. "I don't want you to be taken with me. They might never get you back here." He nodded and backed away a few feet.

I looked up at everyone as they stared at me. "Thanks for everything." I said with a soft smile. "I'll never forget you guys." I looked at my hand as it began to flicker. "Bye!" I called as I totally disappeared.

Hatori carefully watched the spot I had just been. "I guess she was telling the truth."

"I hope she makes it…" Tohru murmured.

* * *

Everyone stared at Akumei as he fell forward suddenly. Inuyasha ran to his side and shook him. "Wake up! Wake up damn it!" He yelled as he shook Akumei by the front of his shirt. 

Akumei's eyes fluttered open again. "I've sent her somewhere again." With that he passed out once more.

"Useless!" Inuyasha cried as he released him. Akumei landed in a pile in the dirt. Yusuke came forward and leaned him back against the tree.

"He won't be able to get her if you kill him!"

"Whatever…" Inuyasha muttered as he walked away.


	11. HackSign:Legend of the Twilight Bracelet

* * *

I fell towards the ground attempting to hold in my screams but some leaked out anyway and I could see people moving around below on a barren desert. One of them suddenly looked up as I hurtled straight towards him and caught me in his arms as I fell. "What have we here?" He muttered as I stared at him. He had huge feathery wings and almost white grey hair.

I felt my face turning bright red. "I'm very sorry…"

The others who were with him turned to stare now and a boy in mostly orange with turquoise hair came over and began to poke me in the side. "Where did you come from?" He asked, still poking.

I jumped from the man's arms and glared at the boy with flashing red eyes. "Will you cut it out!" I screamed and he drew back in fear. I calmed down and looked around. "Where am I now?" I asked myself quietly.

"You're in the world." The man answered sending me a strange stare. "I am Lord Balmung. And you are?"

"My name is Kira."

The boy walked up to me again. "I'm Shugo." He looked me up and down. "I've never seen a player dressed like you before…"

I stared at him blankly. "A… player?"

"Your character in the game." Shugo replied hesitantly.

"Game?" I shouted frantically. "I'm in a game?"

Balmung stared at me. "What are you talking about? You don't know that you're playing a game?"

"You're sitting in front of a computer terminal right now aren't you?" Shugo added.

I shook my head hysterically. "No!" I started muttering to myself. "How did he manage to transport me into a game? Who knows where I'll wind up next! What am I going to do if he can't find me? I can't stay here!"

As I took a step back a huge purple ball made of trasparent lightappeared behind me and I stared at it in shock as it formed into a giant lizard thing that stood on two legs and clutched a massive sword in its hand. It swung at me and still I just stared, shrieking as Balmung grabbed me and pulled me out of the way. The sword struck the ground where I had just been leaving a huge indent in the sand. Balmung made sure I was safely away and then returned to kill the monster in several swift strokes. It disappeared in a wave of fragmented light as he and Shugo came to my side again in time to see me sink to my knees in shock.

Balmung took my face in his hands and made me look at him as he crouched before me. "How could you not know you're in a game? You take having ears and a tail as normal? And you just happened to be wearing a sword?"

I stared at him with tears in my eyes. "Yes! This is how I look in real life!"

"What are you talking about?" Shugo asked.

I turned to him. "I'm a wolf demon! I've had these ears and this tail since I was born! This sword was left to me by my father so I would have protection from the bigger demons that roam around the land where I live!"

Balmung glared at me. "What kind of trick are you trying to pull?"

I looked back at him with tears of frustrationpouring down my face. "Do I looked like I'm joking?" I cried. "I just want to go home!"

"Then explain how you just fell out of the sky like that." Balmung continued.

"I was transported from my home by a greedy idiot who only cares about money."

"I'm confused…" Shugo sighed as Balmung reached for the sword that hung at my side.

"I don't think we offer a sword like this…" He muttered.

"Stop!" I cried as I slapped his hand away. "If you touch it, it will shock you!"

Balmung stared at me. "What?"

"It was created for me and it's very powerful so to insure that no one abused it's power my dad placed a curse on it. Nobody can touch the handle but me." I slowly drew it from the sheathe and it's size tripled as it was drawn.

Balmung stared at it. "No, we don't offer weapons like that and there have been no events that would give one out…" He muttered to himself.

I got to my feet slowly as I placed the sword at my side. "I'll just be going now…" I said quietly as I started inching away.

"No you don't!" Balmung cried as he reached out and pulled me back by my tail.

"Ow!" I yelled. "Don't pull it!"

"Ow?" Shugo asked, staring blankly at me.

I stared back at him. "Yeah… it hurt so I said ow…"

"But we're in a game. It can't hurt." Balmung objected.

I glared at him. "Well I said it does."

He suddenly pointed to the camera bag at my side. "What's that?"

I pulled it out. "It's my camera. I was wearing it when he sent me away…" I looked up with a faint smile. "To make up for pulling my tail can I take your picture?"

Balmung and Shugo stared at me. "Why…" Balmung asked.

"So I have at least one picture of each place I'm sent with the people I meetbefore I make it home again." I explained.

"I still don't understand." Shugo muttered as I got them to stand together.

I snapped a quick picture before beginning to explain. "I went back to my home to visit my brother but he has made several enemies and one extra nasty one just wants to see him suffer so he asked another guy to send me away.That guy diddid and now he feels really bad, plus my family and friends are threatening him so he's trying to bring me back. The problem is that when he transports me I go to a different world each time and neither he nor I have any control over where I end up."

Shugo blinked a few times and Balmung stared at me. "And he sent you into a game?" He asked sarcastically.

I glared at him. "You don't have to believe me because I know it's true and all that matters now is getting back in touch with him."

"You know it makes sense! …Kind of." Shugo admitted.

I nodded. "There, ya see? Now I'm going to find somewhere quiet to wait for him. Goodbye." I muttered as I walked away. Balmung reached out and caught my hair this time. I turned to glare at him with flashing red eyes as I ran a hand along it protectively. "What is your deal?" I screamed as he let go.

"I don't think you should wander aimlessly around here. If you're really not in front of a terminal then if some player attacker kills you, you might really die." I looked fearfully up at him and he continued. "I can stay with you until whatever's supposed to happen happens."

I stared at him in shock for a second before recovering. "What? But it could take days!"

He nodded. "But I am here to help the players and you are an extra special case."

Just as I was about to thank him another purple light flared up and another giant lizard man popped out of nowhere. Before anyone could react he swung at me and caught my arm with the blade. I shrieked as I felt it pierce the skin and stumbled backwards clutching at it. Balmung quickly finished it off and then joined Shugo who was already at my side. "B-blood?" Shugo stammered with wide eyes.

I groaned as the red liquid poured freely from my arm and my vision began to blur. "Stay awake!" Balmung cried as he picked me up. My hair was whipped around me as he started running with Shugo staggering to keep up. He ran straight into a nearby town without slowing down and many people stared at the strange sight, obviously disturbed at seeing blood.

"It's alright, just an event." Shugo panted to them as he tried to keep up.

We rounded a corner, entered an alley and burst through a door as I started coughing. A rough looking green haired man looked up at gasped at the sight. "What happened?" He cried as he came towards us.

"She claims to have been sent here from another world and that she's not sitting in front of a terminal. She also says the pain she feels here is real and I'm starting to believe it." Balmung quickly explained as he laid me down on a bed. He tore off a piece of the sheet and tied up my arm to slow the bleeding.

"She's very pale." Shugo whispered as he arrived on the scene.

"She was pale to begin with but this it horrible." Balmung said slowly.

"What did this?" asked the green haired man, Sanjuro.

"A simple low level monster but it caught us off guard." Balmung growled.

I coughed again and tried to sit up. "Help me." I said weakly and Balmung placed a hand on my back to support me. I reached out my unhurt arm and placed it around the bandage and it began to glow as my eyes glowed green. I blinked and my eyes returned to normal and I smiled at the people around me. "I'll be ok now…" I managed to whisper as I passed out.

I woke up to find Balmung, Shugo and Sanjuro all sitting around me. I sat up and grinned at them. "You didn't have to stay. How long has it been?"

"Just a few hours." Balmung said.

"Crap!" I shouted suddenly and they all turned to stare at me.

"What's wrong?" Shugo asked.

"If I'm unconscious Akumei can't contact me!" I screamed as I jumped to my feet.

"Who is Akumei?" Sanjuro.

"The one who sent me away to begin with… What if I missed him?" I shook my head and slowly calmed myself down before turning to Sanjuro. "Can I take your picture really quick? I may never see any of you guys again." Reluctantly he agreed and I snapped a quick picture. "Thank you…!" I squealed as someone grabbed my shoulder and I turned around to find that my back had been facing the door while someone slipped in unnoticed.

"Yo." He said with a grin.

"W-what do you want?" I stammered as the ones around me went on guard. I looked him over, as he stood still grinning at me. He had dark, midnight blue hair, which fell about his face and partly covered his ice blue eyes as he stared at me. A dark blue streak went down from his left eye on his cheek and he wore a long, thin sword at his side.

"I was just wondering how you got normal clothes for your character." I flinched as he stroked my ear. "Actually, how did you get this character at all?"

Before I could answer Balmung stepped between us. "She broke the rules and now she has to pay for it. Now move along before you do something we don't like as well."

"You know, I don't think I like that answer." The boy said with a smile. "I overheard you talking actually and I got an idea…" He grinned evilly as he suddenly reached by Balmung and grabbed my bandaged arm. Balmung stuck out an arm in front of meand I grabbed it so I was held behind him still.

Balmung drew his sword as Shugo and the man came to his side, blocking me from view except for the arm the boy still held. "I suggest you leave." Balmung said as they all drew their weapons.

The boy smirked. "I don't think so." He suddenly twisted my arm to the side and I groaned as I moved away from Balmung so it wouldn't break. It was still weak from the sword slice. He quickly pulled me towards him and placed an arm across my chest, holding me to him. He slipped a dagger from his sleeve and held it to my throat. "So you can feel pain…" The boy muttered as I struggled to free myself. He turned back towards the others who watched helplessly. "Well boys, it's been fun. Thanks for the prize!" He snickered as he backed up and went through the door but I stopped him. "What are you doing?" He whispered in my ear as he looked at my feet. The claws were dug deep into the ground, leaving marks where he had dragged me. "Haven't you heard of shoes?" He hit me in the stomach and I fell to my knees, holding it and gasping for air.

Balmung started to charge forward but the blue haired boy crouched at my side and pressed the dagger to my neck. A red line appeared where he slightly pierced the skin. He laughed delightedly. "Whoops, I think I slipped." He suddenly kneed me in the stomach and I coughed and gasped for air before hitting the ground. He slipped a hand around me and pulled me to my feet. I stood limp and leaning on him to stay up.

Balmung glared at him. "Do you think no one will be alarmed by you carrying an unconscious, bleeding wolf girl around?"

"Thanks for the concern but I'll manage." The boy answered with a smirk as he backed out the door once again.

Shugo took a step closer but the boy raised the blade to my left cheek and cut a thin line across it. Shugo gasped as the blood trickled down my cheek. "Stop it!" He shouted but the boy ignored him and left the room.

The three stood there motionless for a moment before Balmung spoke up. "We have to get her back. I seriously think her story was true and we can't let that boy keep her!" They all agreed and slowly followed after the boy, keeping crowds of people between them so they wouldn't be seen.

The blue haired boy was walking while holding me beside him, with my feet barely brushing the ground and my head resting on his shoulder like I was leaning on him. No one paid us much attention.

As we approached a warp gate my eyes fluttered open and I looked around without moving my head. "Help! Help me!" I screamed suddenly and everyone on the crowded street turned to stare as he clamped a hand over my mouth.

"Don't mind her, she's just playing." The boy explained, giving everyone a cheery, harmless smile.

I shook my head frantically and his hand slipped so I managed to get some of his fingers in my mouth. I bit down as hard as I could and he quickly released me and I ran straight to Balmung who had arrived on the scene. I ducked behind his back and glared at the boy with my eyes glowing red.

The boy cursed under his breath as he glared back. Suddenly a wicked smile lit up his face as he fingered the dagger. With a flick of his wrist, he threw it at my exposed shoulder and it found its mark. I held back a scream as it stuck into my left shoulder right between the shoulder and collarbone.

"Get out of here!" Balmung screamed to the people watching horrorstruck as the blood poured from me. I fell to my knees as Balmung turned his back to the boy and pulled it out.

The boy grinned as the people scattered and charged at Balmung's exposed back with his sword. "What out!" I screamed and stuck a hand out. I caught the blade in my claws and the boy stared at me open mouthed. I glared hatefully at him as he struggled to pull the sword out of my grasp. Suddenly he stopped and pulled out a second hidden dagger and, taking a swipe at me, caught my wrist. I cried out, now with both arms hurt and slowly stood.

Shugo stood at my side and pulled at my shirt. "Stop! He's going to kill you!"

"Not if I kill him first." I growled as my eyes glowed bright red.

The boy stared confidently back at me. "That so? Your left shoulder and right wrist are both badly wounded. You can't even touch me."

"I'm going to prove you wrong right now ass wipe!" I screamed as I leapt at him.

The boy snickered to himself as he readied his sword. _That idiot! She's left herself wide open with no way to dodge!_ His eyes widened as halfway to him my shape changed into the wolf form. He was caught off guard and I landed on him. I bit his wrist and shook it so he dropped the sword but he caught me, on the right cheek this time, with the dagger as he tried to free himself.

I growled at him before clawing his other hand furiously. Now unarmed, he looked up at me and for the first time I saw true fear in his eyes. I lowered my head and snarled with fangs bared just inches from his nose. "Please stop! I didn't mean it. I would've let you go!" He cried as I glared at him.

_Kira? Are you there? _Akumei's voice rang through my head.

_Give me a second. I'm killing someone right now._ I snarled in my head as I continued growling at the boy.

_What? _The voice was now very nervous sounding but I ignored him. Instead I slammed my foot down into the boy's stomach. He groaned and I continued growling deep in my throat. Without even thinking I grabbed his throat in my teeth and began biting down as hard as I could, his screams of terror and shock ringing through my ears. I bit harder and turned my head and felt flesh tear in my mouth and the boy stopped moving. I backed away and he suddenly faded and disappeared.

I turned to Shugo, Balmung and Sanjuro and slowly approached them as they stared at me completely shocked by my actions. I glowed for an instant and then reappeared as my more human seeming demon form crouching on the ground. Blood dripped from both of my cheeks, my neck, my wrist and my shoulder and began forming a pool around my feet. I stared up at them and blinked. When they reopened my eyes were a deep sad blue.

Balmung came slowly to my side and crouched down beside me. I leaned on him as people began to gather, staring horrorstruck at me. "She just killed him!" "Did you see that?" "I've never seen a character like her before." "Is she… bleeding?" I heard these things and more whispered from the gathering crowd.

I looked up at Balmung as Shugo and Sanjuro crouched beside us. "Keep me awake. Akumei is talking to me." I whispered slowly as I closed my eyes.

_I'm done. _I thought and Akumei immediately answered.

_What happened? I heard growls and screams and-_

I cut him off. _Akumei, I'm about to pass out from the pain. If you don't do it now I will kill you too._

_Ok!_ He stopped talking and I began to glow silver. "Let go of me or you might be transported too." I murmured as Balmung backed slightly away. I fell to the ground as I began to feel dizzy. "Bye…" I whispered as I disappeared.

All that was left of me was a pool of dark red blood in the middle of the town. Balmung stood slowly and addressed the crowd. "She was an illegal character and she has learned her lesson. She is forever banned from the world." With that he walked away and Shugo and Sanjuro followed him as the crowd cleared a path for them.

As soon as they were away from the people Sanjuro turned to Balmung. "Do you think she will be ok? She was very badly hurt…"

"She will be fine." Balmung said as he stared at the sky.

* * *

Akumei stared ahead in a momentary shock as he leaned against the tree. He shook his head lightly and stood for the first time since I left. As everyone stared at him he went slowly to Inuyasha. "She just killed someone." 

"What?" Inuyasha yelled. "Are you serious? She would never do anything like that!"

Yusuke walked over to them with Kurama, Kuwabara and Hiei at his heels. "If you are threatened enough you can do anything. We've seen her loose control of herself before." Yusuke turned towards Akumei. "It was against you wasn't it?"

Akumei nodded. "But this time she was in total control. She spoke to me calmly."

"What did she say?" Kagome urged.

"Well, I asked if it was her and she replied with give me a second. I'm killing someone right now." Akumei replied.

"Are you sure it was her?" Inuyasha asked.

"Who else would be that calm when some random voice talks to her in her head?" Akumei pointed out.

"Did you hear some of the fight?" asked Koga as he came over as well.

Akumei nodded. "There was snarling and growling which I guess were from her. Someone grunted and then started screaming hysterically. When I asked her what had happened she told me to do it or she would pass out from the pain. She threatened to kill me too." He shivered. "Her voice was so cold but it was definitely her."

"Pass out from it?" Miroku cried. "Who would hurt a beautiful young girl like her?"

Sango glared at him but she held back the slap she wanted to give. "I hope she's alright…" Shippou whimpered.

"She better be." Inuyasha said shooting a warning glare at Akumei.

"Ok," Akumei said, backing away slightly. "I'll go and start to find her now…"


	12. Trigun

* * *

I fell to the earth half unconscious and barely aware of the fact that I was even falling. I gasped suddenly as I hit stone and smashed right through, crying out as I landed on my injured shoulder. I looked around from the flat of my back with blurry eyes.

As the dust cleared I was aware of many outlines staring at me. One of them cried out in rage and ran to my side. He grabbed my arm and began to shake me. "You killed my brother!" He screamed as I squealed in pain.

Suddenly his cries of rage turned to ones of fear and I felt him release me. I forced open my eyes and stared up at him and my eyes widened. The man had his hands around his own throat and was slowly choking the life out of himself. I saw many more outlines turned in his direction. One of them approached the man and grabbed his arms but the man just responded by choking him too. _What's going on?_ I thought frantically as I stared up at them, wincing as they both hit the ground. "It must be that girl!" Someone shouted and my eyes darted to the one who had spoken. They widened and my vision began to clear as I saw a gun drawn and pointed towards me. I stared at him with pleading eyes but he started to pull the trigger. I slammed my eyes closed and screamed as I heard the shot go off. With a thump something heavy hit the ground beside me and I opened my eyes. I screamed again as I came face to face with the man who had been about to shoot me. I clamped my eyes shut to block out the sight of his blown apart head and tried to scoot away from him. Someone grabbed the back of my head and pulled me to my feet by the hair. I felt the cold metal as a gun was held to my head and forced out a high pitched groaned, but I was too tired to fight him. I waited for the shot to sound. It didn't so I opened my eyes hesitantly.

A blue haired man with golden yellow eyes was staring calmly at me with a soft smile on his lips. He wore a long white coat with big shoulders and a spiky ring going around one shoulder. "I'd advise you to hand her over to me." He said while he stared at the men.

"So you're in league with her too are you?" The man holding me yelled but the gun never left my head.

My ears twitched slightly as I heard about twenty more guns being drawn, all pointed at either the blue haired man or me. I groaned as the man suddenly released me and I hit the floor. The blue haired man came over to me and picked me up in his arms. He glanced down at me with a reassuring smile before looking back up at the men. I stared up at him as he smiled and then guns started going off like crazy. I screamed and closed my eyes expecting to be hit by them but I felt nothing except for the wounds I already had. I looked up from the man whose chest I had buried my face in and stared around in shock. Dead bodies littered the floor and I coughed from the strong scent of gunpowder in the air. _I've been saved by a murderer! _I thought hysterically before I couldn't stay awake any longer. I passed out in the mans arms.

The man looked down at me curiously and stared at the hole in the ceiling I had created before picking his way through the dead men and taking me outside. I was growing paler by the minute and puddles of blood formed behind us as he walked. He brought me into another stone building and approached the counter.

Another man turned around and then yelled. "What is that?" He pointed a finger at me as he did so.

"A girl in need of a doctor." The blue haired man said and the other nodded slowly. He glanced at me again and then led us into a room up some stairs.

The doctor pointed at the bed. "Set her there and wait." He left the room and the man lifted me gently into the bed and I coughed up some blood and began shivering uncontrollably.

The doctor returned and sat in a chair beside the bed. He pulled away pieces of my ripped shirt so my left shoulder was showing and the deep stab wound was easily visible. He took some small tweezers and began to pull out fabric that had sunk inside it. When he finished he looked at the cuts on my right wrist, neck, and both cheeks. "What happened to her? She's taken quite the beating."

"I just found her like this." The blue haired man answered. "Will she survive?"

"It will take time." The doctor replied as he turned back to my wounds. As he stuck the needle into my skin I suddenly sat up and snapped at him with glowing red eyes. The doctor flipped over backwards in his chair. "What are you?" He screamed before running from the room.

The blue haired man stared at me as I collapsed again. He moved closer as my hands and eyes all glowed bright green and sparks leapt from my hands to the several cuts I had. The top left corner of my back was deeply bruised from my impact with the roof of the bar as well. After about ten minutes of healing I couldn't do it anymore and my eyes suddenly returned to normal. I was still bleeding from both cheeks and my wrist as well as a light trickle coming from my shoulder. My neck was totally better though.

As I watched him the blue haired man came to my side. I stared up at him. "Why did you kill them all?"

"Would you rather have them kill you?" He replied.

I managed to shake my head. "But they all didn't have to die…"

The man looked at me closely. "You've killed someone. Quite recently too." He said calmly as I stared at him.

"How did you… know?" I whispered.

"I can tell." He offered me a hand. "Are you ready to leave?" Not wanting to be left alone I weakly took it against all of my instincts and he gathered me in his arms again. As he went to the door we came face to face with the doctor and the gun he was holding. The man looked at him and the doctor started yelling as the gun was redirected towards his own head. I whimpered and buried my face into the mans white coat as the gun fired and someone hit the floor. He went calmly down the stairs where a woman and a child each had a gun aimed at us as well. I looked up at them with pleading eyes and they slowly lowered them and ran past us up the stairs to the doctor. "Those eyes are not always going to save you." The man said as he went out the door, wails echoing out behind us.

Instead of heading into another house he kept going down the long and dusty road. "Where are we going?" I asked nervously.

He looked down at me. "It's ok. I've protected you so far. Don't you trust me? Just go to sleep. I can tell you're tired."

I looked up at him and tried to blink away the darkness that was taking me again. "Thanks for saving me…" I whispered as I fell once again into unconsciousness.

The man looked curiously at me as he continued walking down the dusty road. _Even after seeing me kill all those people she has willingly placed her life in my hands. She is much too trusting._ He thought to himself.

I awoke to the sound of voices the next day. "I didn't know you were the womanizing type." Said an unfamiliar voice.

"I'm not." Claimed the one I recognized as the blue haired man. "I found her badly injured and brought her with me."

The other laughed. "What happened to your plan to kill of all humanity?"

"Have you even looked at her? She is no human."

"What?" I heard the sound of someone rising and turned my head towards the direction they were coming from. The footsteps sounded across the room as he came closer. Suddenly a man with dark hair appeared in my view, looking down at me. He reached out slowly and tugged lightly on one of my ears. I was too tired so I just allowed it. He turned back to the blue haired man, who came to my side as well. "Wolf ears?"

Blue hair pulled the covers down to my waist and the man gasped as he saw my various wounds and torn clothes. "What happened to her?" He shouted.

"I found her like this right after she fell through the roof of a saloon. She killed a few people with the rock she knocked loose and I saved her from the angry relatives."

I groaned as I tried to sit up but the dark haired man held me down. "Don't try to move!" He yelled at me.

I nodded slightly and looked up at them both. "Sorry, but I don't know what your names are…" I whispered.

The blue haired one regarded me for a second. "I am Legato and this is Nicholas D. Wolfwood." He said, indicating the dark haired man. Images of the Trigun characters flashed through my head.

"But you can call me Wolfwood." He added kindly. "What's your name?"

"Kira." I muttered quietly. I blushed as I made a request. "I can't move my arms… Can you put my hand on my left shoulder?"

Wolfwood gently took my right arm and rested the hand on my left shoulder. "Like that?" He asked and I nodded with a quiet thank you. He backed away in surprise as my hand and eyes glowed neon green. The huge gash in my shoulder began to disappearentirelyand I got up the energy to sit up, though Legato supported me some. I placed my now glowing left hand on my right wrist and slowly that cut healed as well. My hands hovered over my face but then dropped, suddenly limp again. I sighed as Legato lowered me onto the pillows again. My eyes drooped closed and I managed to mutter, "healing makes me tired…" before I passed out again.

"That's useful." Wolfwood said in awe as he cautiously approached me.

Legato nodded as he released me. "Exactly."

Wolfwood stared at him for a second. "You're not thinking of-"

Legato nodded. "She would make a great addition."

"But she's just a kid! She's probably lost and scared."

"But I think Knives would approve of her too."

"You'd risk taking her to see Knives?" Wolfwood asked as he traced a finger over one of the cuts on my cheek.

"Who is Knives?" I whispered, causing him to jump back.

"You were listening?" he asked.

"Barely." I said with a faint smile.

There was a short silence, broken by Wolfwood. "Why don't you finish healing?"

"I'm too tired." I replied. "I'm trying to stay awake in case he talks to me."

"Who?" Legato asked suddenly.

I sighed. "The one who sent me here, Akumei."

"Why do you need to talk to him?" Wolfwood asked.

"So he can bring me home again…" I said with a longing smile as I recalled the people waiting for me.

Wolfwood glanced at Legato before turning back to me. "Are you supposed to be meeting him somewhere?"

I shook my head. "No, he's a telepath. He contacts me. Then he'll transport me to another world and we'll hope it's the right one."

"I think you lost a bit too much blood." Wolfwood joked nervously.

"No, it's true." I sighed. "Eventually I'll make it back home to where they're all waiting to welcome me…" I closed my eyes and lifted my hands, letting one fall on each cheek. They glowed green for about a minute before I let them slide off to reveal a healed face.

Wolfwood pointed to the two red markings under my left eye. "You mean those are natural? And the moon?"

I nodded. "My oldest brother has them too…" I sat up slowly and crossed my legs as I faced them both, waiting for something to happen.

"What's in there?" Legato said, pointing at the camera bag around my shoulder.

I unbuckled it and pulled out the camera as they both stared at it. I flipped open the front and the zoom extended as they both watched. "It's a camera. Can I take my picture with each of you?" I asked tentatively.

I hopped to my feet but ended up falling flat when they gave out underneath me. Wolfwood laughed as he helped me up. "You just recovered, don't act so quickly."

I nodded and turned to him. "Can you look through this little square at Legato and me and then press this little button right here when you can clearly see both of us?" I asked as I pointed them out.

"Sure, but what will it do?" Wolfwood asked as he took it from me.

"It will take a picture so I'll always be able to remember you guys." I turned to Legato. "Will you stand with me for a second?"

He watched me for a second before shrugging and I smiled as I leaned against his side. He felt me wobbling and steadied me with a hand. The flash went off in our faces as Wolfwood clicked the button. I took the camera from him and went to Legato. "Now will you take it of him and me?" I asked and he slowly agreed.

I went to Wolfwood's side and he slipped an arm around me as I stood beside him so I wouldn't fall. It flashed again as another picture took and I thanked them both weakly as I put it carefully back in the bag. I checked to make sure I was still wearing my sword and then looked around. "Where exactly are we?" I gagged suddenly and Wolfwood rushed to my side as I fell.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

I looked up at him with watering eyes. "As I get better my senses return to normal and I can suddenly smell tons of blood!" I cried through coughs. "I can't breathe!"

Wolfwood picked me up in his arms and turned to Legato. "We have to leave this town." He said as he hurried out the door.

We went down the stone stairs and out the door into the dusty, barren terrain that surrounded us. My eyes widened in shock as I stared around. Men, women and children all littered the ground, eyes widened in terror and lying in pools of their own and others blood. I looked around and my eyes rested on a huge slab in the middle of the town. Smeared across it in blood was the word Knives in all caps. I cried out and felt the tears leaking from my eyes as I buried my face into Wolfwood's chest and began to cry.

He attempted to comfort me but it was no use so he started to walk away. He stopped when he realized Legato wasn't coming. "What are you doing?" He called.

Legato stared steadily at me as I continued sobbing. "She knows I did most of this. I can't face her now. Besides, she seems to accept you easier. Maybe it's because wolf is in your name." He started to walk away but I called out to him.

"Legato!" He turned to face my tear stained face as I jumped from Wolfwood's grasp and came to stand in front of him. "Thanks for saving me." I said quietly as I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my head into his stomach. "If you hadn't been there I would be dead right now with no chance to ever see my family again. Thank you." I whispered as he stared down at me. I looked up at him with a faint smile shining through the tears. He wiped one away as it leaked from a deep blue eye. I wrinkled my nose, slightly growing used to the smell of the blood.

"How could you still treat me like this knowing what I've done?" He asked.

"I don't believe you're truly bad. You did save me after all. You didn't have to." I smiled as I backed away. "So I'll never forget you, Legato Bluesummers."

His eyes widened as I said his last name. "How did you…?" He trailed off as I sighed and fell forward suddenly. He caught me and handed me over to Wolfwood. "Remember to ask her how she knew my last name." He muttered as he turned to leave. _She is very strange…maybe she truly did come from a different world._ He thought as he walked away.

As Legato disappeared from sight, Wolfwood grunted and set me on the ground at his feet. He shifted the giant cross that he wore over his shoulder and lit a cigarette in his mouth. "Great." He muttered. "Now I have no money, no food, and I have to carry this girl across a desert with me." He sighed as he picked me up again bridal style and started down the dusty road that headed out of the dead town.

A couple hours later I awoke to find myself sitting in the sand. _Oh my God, they left me to rot!_ Was the first thought through my head but I quickly realized that I was leaning against someone's legs. I looked up to find Wolfwood there. "What are you doing?" I asked and he jumped.

"Don't do that!" He yelled as he helped me to my feet. "I heard there was a bus that comes by here sometimes. It will be quicker than trying to walk to the next town."

"Do you have any money?"

Wolfwood's face fell. "No!" He cried miserably.

My ears twitched as I looked down the road. Several miles away a dust cloud was slowly approaching. I pointed towards it. "Well, there's the bus."

Wolfwood shielded his eyes from the sun and squinted in the direction I had pointed. After a moment of searching he finally saw it as well. He plopped down where he sat and I crouched beside him. "But how can we get on?"

I laughed at him. "You give up to easily. We'll make it."

A couple minutes passed before he turned to me. "How did you know his last name?"

I blushed and shrugged. "I don't know…"

Several more minutes of silence passed before the bus finally slowed to a stop beside us. The door swung open and the driver glared out at us. "No money, no ride. No exceptions made." He said first thing.

"Aww come on." Wolfwood said, pulling out a box from somewhere. "Not even for a free confessional session?"

"Sorry." Snapped the bus driver as the door began to slam in our faces.

I reached out and caught it in my hand, holding it open. I grinned through at the driver. "Please?" I asked innocently. "You won't even notice we're here."

The driver shook his head. "No way, I'm almost full anyway." He stopped and stared at me. "What are you?"

I froze and turned to Wolfwood for support but he just shrugged. I turned back to the driver slowly. "You mean these?" I asked, as I pulled at my ear. "It's just a bet. I have to wear them."

"Can I see them?" The driver asked.

"No, then I'll lose the bet!" I responded.

"Well, nice meeting you but I have a schedule to keep."

Suddenly several people popped their heads from some windows towards the back. "Hello Mr. Priest!" Called a girl with kind of long golden brown hair. She waved happily.

A guy with spiky blonde hair and a girl with short lavender hair also were looking out at us. "Hey needle noggin!" Wolfwood called to the blonde guy who waved back. "Do you have any extra money? This guy won't let us on."

"Us?" Asked the blonde one.

Wolfwood motioned for me to come over. Before I did I smiled sweetly at the driver. "If you leave us I swear I will hunt you down." I said as my eyes flashed red and I bared my fangs. The driver nodded with wide eyes and I went over to Wolfwood.

He took my arm and pointed to each of the people on the bus. "This is Vash," he said, pointing at the blonde one. He pointed to the brown haired girl next. "That's Milly and that's Meryl." He said indicating the lavender haired girl. "This is Kira." He said, introducing me next.

I smiled with a wave. "Do you have any room for us on that bus?" I asked teasing.

"It's pretty empty." Milly responded as she looked around inside it.

My eyes flashed red and I whispered to Wolfwood. "That idiot driver said it was full."

"Come on in!" Vash shouted, as he looked me up and down. "Meryl will pay for it!"

"I will?" Shrieked the lavender haired girl and Vash laughed.

"Yep! You just said it yourself." Vash grinned.

She muttered to herself as Wolfwood hooked his big cross to the bus and then we both entered. We made our way to the back of the bus to join the others but not before I glared at the driver as we passed. We were warmly greeted and Vash pulled me into the seat beside him causing Meryl to send him death glares. Wolfwood took a seat across the aisle from us as Milly and Meryl were seated beside each other.

Vash stared at me for a second and then reached out to grab an ear. It twitched under his touch. He then looked down at the tail that lay in my lap, randomly flicking back and forth. "Those are definitely not fake." He muttered, as he looked me in the eyes. "Are they?"

I grinned nervously. "Looks like I'm caught…" I murmured.

"So what does that mean you are?" Asked Milly.

Meryl glared at her. "Don't Milly, that's rude!"

I laughed. "It's ok. I'm a… wolf demon." I said quietly. I continued at the shocked stares I got. "Though I'm part human as well."

"Is that part what's keeping you from attacking us right now?" Vash asked.

I glared at him as my eyes flashed red. "Not all demons are evil!" I shouted and he flinched away. I sighed and calmed back down. "Besides, my demon blood easily outweighs the human."

"Mr. Priest?" Milly asked. "What were you two doing out in the desert alone?"

We both tensed and shifted nervously as we stared at each other. "Well…" I began. "I don't really know anything about this world so he let me tag along with him."

"Oh, ok!" Milly said with a perpetual smile on her face.

"How long will we be on this bus?" I asked.

"The nearest town is at least one day away." Meryl answered, sounding highly annoyed.

I nodded and turned to Wolfwood. "Can you take a picture of me and Vash and then me and them?" I asked as I handed him the camera again.

"Why?" He asked.

"So I won't forget any of you when I leave this place!" I cried. I turned to Vash. "Pose with me for a picture, ok?"

"Ok." He said, looking dead serious. He put his arms around me and pulled me back so I was leaning into him and he gave off a very attractive smile as I grinned, blushing at the camera.

I laughed and turned to Meryl and Milly. "Will you both now?" I asked and they slowly agreed. I plopped in between them and they both smiled as another picture flashed.

"What are you doing back there?" The bus driver yelled at us.

"Nothing sir!" Vash shouted quickly back.

I laughed as I took the camera back from Wolfwood and thanked him as I put it in the bag again.

After a few hours of non-stop riding I leaned back in the seat and my eyes began to drift close. I saw Wolfwood slump against the window. As I fell into sleep I accidentally started leaning into Vash and ended up resting my head on his shoulder. He smiled down at me and slipped an arm around my waist as he stared out the window. In the very back seat Meryl and Milly were asleep resting on each other as well.

We woke up to the bus drivers yells. "What are you doing? We're here now get off my bus!"

We all filed out one by one as Meryl paid for us all and Wolfwood got his cross. As soon as they rejoined us we all set off into the busy city together. I ducked behind Wolfwood to try to escape from the curious looks I was getting. As Meryl and Milly went to find a hotel room, Vash and Wolfwood brought me with them to the bar before I could protest. "Do you drink?" Wolfwood asked me as they got theirs and we all sat down at a table.

"No…" I said quietly as I looked around. A rough looking man caught my eye and I quickly turned to stare at the table. "Let's hurry." I urged. I squealed as a hand stroked my chest from behind and I quickly slapped the hand away.

"Now that wasn't very nice." Said the rough looking man who had caught my eye just a second before. He was obviously drunk and could barely stand. He suddenly grabbed me around the waist and dragged me to my feet.

Vash and Wolfwood leapt from their chairs. "Let her down." Wolfwood growled.

Before anyone could do anything I slammed my elbow backwards into the mans stomach. He grunted and I fell to the floor on my knees. "Why you…" the man angrily grabbed out his gun and I turned to face him just as the shot went off.

I screamed and looked down at my left shoulder, the same one that had been stabbed with the knife. Blood was pouring down forming big puddles on the floor around me as I clutched it, the pain intensified by the fact that my skin was still soft from recently being healed. I glared up at the man as he smirked down at me and pushed away Vash who had been trying to help me. The mans face changed to fear as my eyes glowed red and I leapt at him, sinking my fangs into his arm. He screamed as he fell backwards and Vash and Wolfwood cried out in alarm. Vash picked me up around the waist as Wolfwood pried my teeth from the mans arm. "Maybe we should let her kill you." He spat as we retreated from the room.

Vash adjusted me in his arms as I began to cry. "Why is this always happening to me?" I screamed as I held my shoulder. "First Akumei took me and cut my chest, next I get harassed by a bunch of perverts, then that boy held me hostage and sliced me up and now I get shot too?"

Vash tried to calm me down as we entered the hotel and Wolfwood smashed open the door of the room we hoped belonged to the girls. Meryl screamed at us as they walked in. "What do you think you're-" She froze as she saw Vash holding me, blood dripping to the floor. "What happened to her?"

"Some idiot at the saloon was rejected by her and decided to get revenge." Wolfwood replied as Vash set me carefully on the bed. Vash tore a piece of the white sheets and tied it around my shoulder. Within minutes the white material was blood soaked and unable to contain it. Milly just stood to the side as she watched in horror.

"You brought here in there?" Meryl cried. "You two are the most irresponsible-"

Wolfwood cut her off. "Be quiet! What's done is done and we're trying to help her now!"

Meryl grew silent as she and Milly joined the guys to circle around me. "Can't you heal yourself like before?" Wolfwood asked.

I shook my head as the tears still fell. "I'm not fully recharged… Quiet!" I suddenly shouted and everyone froze. "It's Akumei." I added as I closed my leaking eyes and concentrated.

_Kira? What's wrong? Why are you crying? _Akumei's voice sounded very concerned even in my head.

_Someone shot me. Just take me home! _I thought with a whimper.

_Ok, prepare yourself. _Akumei thought back and I stared up at everyone. "He's going to take me somewhere again. Hopefully this time it's home."

"What are you talking about?" Asked Meryl. "Who?"

"Akumei, the one who was forced to send me from my home world. Now he transports me between worlds until I make it home once more. Are my things buckled tight?" I asked slowly.

Vash checked them both. "Yes." He said seriously. "But why do you have to leave?" He asked in a now goofy voice.

I laughed but grunted at the pain it brought. "I miss my family and friends. I'll never see any of them again if I remain here."

Vash nodded as I sat up and hugged him lightly with my uninjured arm and he embraced me carefully back. I hugged Wolfwood as well. "Don't let yourself die or be taken advantage of." He muttered as he pulled away.

"Ok." I whispered back. I smiled at the girls and collapsed on the bed again. Suddenly a glowing white light surrounded me and I smiled softly through the tears that still fell. "Bye." I whispered as my body flickered once and then disappeared.

"Gee, I sure hope she makes it." Milly said as she stared at the bed I had just been lying on.

"Yeah." The other three breathed together.

* * *

Akumei looked up at the others with wide eyes. "She was crying." He whispered. 

Inuyasha leapt to his side. "What for?" He cried.

Akumei shook his head. "She said she had been shot…"

"Shot?" Yusuke shouted. "With what?"

Akumei shrugged. "She didn't say."

Kurama shook his head sadly. "That girl never gets a break. Last time you said she was about to pass out from pain and had killed someone. Now you claim she's been shot…"

"Why did it take you so long to find her this time?" Miroku pointed out.

"Either she was unconscious or just extremely far away." Akumei replied. "I better start tracking her again." He closed his eyes and everyone watched him quietly.


	13. DNAngel

* * *

I watched my blood blankly, as it seemed to float upwards from my bodybecause I was moving faster than it. I was falling again, falling into another new world not knowing what to expect. I was totally out of it as well, which didn't help much. It seemed that being transported took up my energy as well and the last bit I had saved was gone. The stars blanketed the sky overhead and I stared at them in a soft kind of trance. Suddenly something soared across my view and I blinked. It had seemed to be a winged boy but it was too dark so I wasn't sure. I could only see the outline as well. My eyes widened as a boy's face appeared over my own and he clutched me in his arms, pulling me close to stop my descent. "Dark, we haven't finished things!" Shouted a boy's voice.

The boy who held me turned to face a tall building that we were hovering beside. A boy with blue hair and glasses was staring calmly at us. "Would you rather me have let her fall?" Asked the boy who held me. Dark was what the boy had called him. "We'll settle this later." With that Dark soared away through the air. When we were a good distance away he landed on a rooftop and set me down. I managed to stand for a second before my legs gave out and I fell. He grabbed me before I fell and brought me down slowly. I sat with my legs bent underneath myself and he kneeled before me so I finally got a good look at him. He had black hair that stuck out across his face in random strands and crimson eyes. He smiled at me and touched my shoulder, causing me to wince. When he pulled his hand back it was covered in blood and he stared at me with a worried expression. "I'll take care of you." He whispered as he took me up in his arms again. I felt the air rush past as we lifted into the air and soon blacked out.

I awoke in a brightly lit room. Sitting up slowly I looked around and was immediately greeted by a woman. "Hello and welcome back! We were really worried about you!" She cried happily.

I smiled at her. "Where am I?" I asked.

"You're in my house. My little Darky brought you here." She said with a loving expression.

"Darky?" I replied blankly.

"Mom…" A boy muttered as he entered the room. He came quickly to my side. "How are you?" he asked kindly. He had red hair spiked up and light eyes.

"I'm doing better…" I said softly.

He smiled. "Good. I'm Daisuke. What's your name?"

"Kira." I said, thinking instantly now of DNAngel.

"I'm Emiko!" His mother added happily.

"How old are you?" Daisuke continued.

"Fifteen." I replied.

"Really? I'm fourteen. How did you manage to get a bullet wound? And this one was serious too. It must have been close range because it went all the way through."

I stared at him and then at my shoulder. The bandages had been changed and I now noticed that it didn't hurt nearly as bad. "Some guy was harassing me so I hit him away and he pulled a gun on me…" I responded slowly.

Daisuke nodded. "One last question for now, what exactly are you?"

"Daisuke, that's rude!" Emiko scolded him.

I shook my head and smiled. "It's ok. I've been asked that a lot lately. I'm an almost full wolf demon."

"Almost full?" Daisuke questioned.

I nodded. "I have a little bit of human in me. My mother was a half wolf demon and my father was afull dog demonso I'm mixed as well. May I ask a question now?" Daisuke nodded as he thought over what I had said so I continued. "You're Dark, aren't you?"

He looked up at me, startled. "How do you know? Were you working for Satoshi?"

I looked at him puzzled. "Satoshi? Is he that blue haired kid? I've never met him before."

"Then how?" Daisuke urged.

I looked him in the eyes. "Will you believe me if I tell you?" He nodded and I stared at him for a second until I knew he meant it. "Ok, I came from another world. Back there, there is a book about you and Dark, the phantom thief."

"Then how are you here?" Emiko asked.

"Well, I was visiting my brother when I was kidnapped by some guy named Akumei who was paid to send me away somewhere. He did and I've been switching between worlds ever since."

"Why don't you just stay in one?" Daisuke questioned.

"Well, my brother and friends have pressured him into trying to get me back there. The problem is he doesn't know where I'll end up when he transports me so it'll be luck if I ever make it back so I don't stand much of a chance. Plus at almost every place I've been I was almost killed…" I trailed off as I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away and closed my eyes as Daisuke and his mom watched me. I reopened them and they glowed neon green as I placed my also green hand on my shoulder over the wound. I closed my eyes again and stayed unmoving for a moment before smiling at them both with normal green eyes as I let my hand fall.

"What was that?" Daisuke asked nervously.

I laughed as I removed the bandages from my shoulder and his mouth dropped. "I'm cured." I said softly. "It's a skill that my human side recently gained."

"Your human side does that?" Daisuke asked incredulously.

"Yep, it turns out I've had this power sleeping inside of me for over five hundred years and the people came only recently to show me." I said with a soft smile, amused by how well they accepted my story.

I jumped as a little white thing leapt in my lap and stared at me. I stared back quietly. It was white and fuzzy with big eyes and long bunny ears. It really looked like a long eared bunny but with a long tail. Daisuke laughed. "Wiz usually doesn't warm up to people so quickly."

"Really?" I asked as I stroked its head softly. I looked up at Daisuke suddenly and grinned. "Can I have my picture taken with you and then Dark?" I held up my camera.

He jumped. "What for?"

"I'm keeping a record of all the places I go before I reach the end, wherever that may be…"

"I'll take it!" Emiko cried as she grabbed the camera from my hand. I slid out of the bed and stood as she shoved Daisuke beside me. We both smiled as she quickly snapped the picture.

I thanked her as I took back the camera to put it away as Daisuke turned to me. "So what do you do until Akumei contacts you?"

I shrugged. "Find something to keep me awake I guess… He can't talk to me if I'm unconscious."

"I've got it!" Emiko said. "How about you two go for a walk? Just wonder and explore! And you will probably see Dark again." She added to me in a whisper.

I shifted uncomfortably as my tail swished. "I might attract a lot of attention…" I sighed. "And my shirt's kind of ripped." I added as I fingered the cloth around my shoulder.

"That's easily fixed." Emiko replied. "What do you need?"

"Just a t-shirt…" I responded, watching as she went to a drawer and pulled out an ice blue one.

"This is Daisuke's." She said.

"Is it ok?" I asked him and he nodded so I left the room to change. When I came back Daisuke commented about my pants with the knee ripped out and the thigh and random spots on the legs torn as well. "Well, I don't want to be too much trouble…" I muttered with a red face.

"Nonsense!" Emiko cried as she pulled out a pair of baggy, faded jeans. "Daisuke doesn't wear these anymore!" She handed them to me and I turned towards Daisuke who once again nodded. I changed into them as well. "Now to hide your ears…" Emiko muttered as she searched through a different drawer. "Ah, here we go." She came up with a blue baseball cap.

I laughed as she handed it to me and I placed it on my head to hold down the ears and keep them hidden. "I'm all blue!" I discovered as I refastened my sword to my waist and placed the camera bag around my shoulder.

"Ok!" Cried Emiko as she took Daisuke's shoulders and mine and began shoving us out the door. "Have fun!" She called before slamming it behind us.

I tucked my tail around my waist so it wouldn't swish loose before turning to Daisuke. "What are we doing?"

"I guess just walking around…"

"Oh, ok." I replied as we started off down the street.

As we continued someone suddenly leapt out and tackled Daisuke in a headlock. "Guess what? My old man just tipped me off again about another Dark strike tonight!" The boy said happily. I noticed the camera around his neck and grabbed the hat down upon my head.

"Get off Takeshi!" Daisuke muttered and was finally released, as the boy, Takeshi seemed to notice me for the first time.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Kira." I said, lowering my hands and staring back at him.

He looked at me funny and started to reach towards the markings on my face but I pulled back and he stopped. "Well hey but I have to go." He said before he took off down the street.

I turned to Daisuke. "Are you ok?"

He nodded as he rubbed his neck. "Yeah…"

"Ok." I sniffed the air as we started walking again. "Someone's been following us." I muttered without turning around.

"How do you know?"

I tapped my nose. "Wolf demon means great sense of smell."

"Can you tell who it is?" Daisuke asked quietly.

I nodded. "It's that Satoshi kid. What if he recognizes me from last night?" I spun around as someone walked up behind me.

It was Satoshi. He glanced at Daisuke and studied me carefully before speaking. "Do I know you?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so. Do I know you?" I asked straight faced.

"What's under the hat?" He asked.

"My head." I responded slowly. "Why?"

He chuckled. "Playing dumb won't work for long, I saw you last night."

"What?" I asked as I stared at him in fake disbelief. "You were spying on me? Come on Daisuke." I said as I pulled him away with me.

Once we were a safe distance away we slowed and Daisuke glanced at me. "You're a great liar." He teased as we entered a park.

I laughed. "Should that be a compliment or not?"

He laughed too but stopped abruptly as someone called his name. "Hey Daisuke!" Called a girl with long brown hair.

"H-hi Risa." Daisuke stammered.

"Who's she?" Risa asked.

"Kira, hi." I replied.

She stared at me for a second and then back to the blushing Daisuke. "Are you two…?"

I quickly shook my head. "No, he's just showing me around."

"Oh, ok." Risa said with a smile.

"Risa! Where did you go?" I looked up to find a girl similar to Risa emerging from the trees. The main difference was that her hair was shorter. She stopped when she saw all of us. "Hi Daisuke." She said quietly.

"Hi Riku." Daisuke replied. "This is Kira." He added, pointing to me.

I smiled. "Hey." I said warmly.

"Hi." She said with a smile of her own.

Suddenly Risa reached out and took Daisuke's hands into her own. "Hey Daisuke, will you tell me about Dark? Maybe help me find him?"

"Uh, I…" Daisuke's face burned bright red and he suddenly turned away. "Have to go!" He cried as he ran away into the trees.

I stared at the twins before running after him. "What?" Risa asked but Riku just stared after the two of us.

I sniffed the air and continued to my right. "Daisuke?" I called in a whisper.

From the bushes nearby, Dark crouched against a tree watching me. _Sorry Daisuke, but your friend is pretty. I'm going to have to take over for a while._ He thought.

_But Dark you can't!_ Daisuke thought back. They shared a body so they could talk to each other through thoughts.

Dark smiled. _But she requested a picture with me!_ He rose and emerged from the bushes quietly. I gasped as someone grabbed me around the waist from behind and turned face to face with him. "You've transformed." I said dumbly.

He smiled. "Aren't we the smart one?"

I blushed as he removed his arms from my waist. "Thanks for last night. Catching me I mean."

He nodded. "Anytime. You looked so beautiful falling that I couldn't help myself." I blushed darker. "And you still do." He said as he brushed my cheek. "That hat hides your face." He added as he lifted it lightly off of my head and tossed it aside. He rubbed one of my ears as it popped back up.

"C-can I take a picture of us?" I stammered and he nodded with a smile. I walked slightly away and made a flat square out of my energy. He watched as I made it float to hold the camera and looked through to make sure it was aimed properly. I returned to his side and smiled with a red face as the flash went off.

"Can we have one more?" He asked.

"Why?"

"Because." He replied softly as he stroked my hair.

I blushed and nodded as I set up the camera again. "When the red light disappears." I said.

Right before it did Dark reached an arm out and pulled me close. I cried out in surprise as he wrapped his arms around me and placed his lips on mine. The flash went off but he didn't let go and I didn't resist, caught too off guard.

"I've caught you." Satoshi's voice rang out suddenly and we both looked up quickly. I reached up to pull the hat down but remembered that Dark had tossed it aside. Satoshi was standing beside my camera as it floated on the shelf. "This is interesting. Which one of you doest his belong to?"

"What does that matter?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Just wanted to know who I'll be offending when I snap it." He said, taking the camera into his hands.

"No, don't!" I cried.

Satoshi stared knowingly at me. "So it is yours. I guess you're another fan of the phantom thief?"

Dark slipped a hand around my waist and pulled me to him as I watched Satoshi fingering my camera. "I hope so because I'm a fan of hers." He smirked.

Satoshi looked calmly back. "Then I guess since you have the real thing you won't need the pictures." He brought back his hand and swung the camera at a tree.

"Stop!" I screamed and he barely managed to. "Not just Dark is on there! There are also many people who I will never see again. Please don't break it!" I turned to Dark and whispered urgently, "You should go ahead. It's very important that I get it back." He nodded and lifted into the air, soaring away but staying out of sight among the treetops.

Satoshi watched me carefully. "Why are you here and what are you?"

I sighed as I approached him slowly with my hands in the air. I plopped down a couple feet in front of him and he closed the remaining gap and sat in front of me. "I'm from a different world. Someone was paid to send me away but now he's trying to bring me back because my friends are threatening him. He will transport me between worlds until I make it back home to mine and that's when you saw me last night. I had just been transported again. As to what I am? I'm a wolf demon with some human in me as well plus some dog demon too."

Satoshi stared at me for a second. "Let's say I believe you. But what's in this camera that's so important?"

"They're pictures of lots of the people I've met in my travels. I'll never be able to see them again so please don't break it!" I whimpered as my eyes turned deep blue.

Satoshi remained silent for a bit as he stared at the camera. "Now you've met me so do you need a picture of me as well?"

I stared at him. "If you want to… Ok." I decided and he hesitantly handed it to me. I smiled at him and my eyes swirled green again as I created the floating shelf. I set up the camera and went to his side undecidedly. He smiled softly at me and placed an arm around my shoulders as he stared at the camera. I blushed and smiled at it too as it flashed. I quickly went to fetch it and slipped it back into the case.

Satoshi smiled at me. "You're free to go."

"Thank you!" I cried as I turned and trotted off through the trees.

Satoshi watched me disappear and then went the opposite way. He stopped as something caught his eye and turned to pick it up. "She forgot her hat…" He said as he wondered after me.

I jumped as something fell from a tree behind me and turned to face Dark again. "You handled that well." He said with a grin.

I laughed. "Really? I thought I sounded too desperate, like I'd do anything…"

Dark smiled at me and placed his arms around my waist lightly. "Then maybe I should take it next."

I laughed nervously as my face turned red. "Ah, please don't."

He chuckled softly at my reaction. "You sure do blush a lot."

"I can't help it." I muttered as I looked down.

Dark lifted my face towards his with a hand and leaned towards me. Our lips brushed lightly when I suddenly pulled away and growled towards the bushes. I heard some rustling and pounced on whoever it was. I came back out with Takeshi dragging behind me struggling frantically. Dark laughed at me. "If only I could sense things like you." He said.

He watched while suppressing a chuckle as I crouched in front of the cowering Takeshi. I bared my fangs as I grinned menacingly at him and held out a hand. "The film please?" I asked. He was wearing his camera.

"I didn't take any pictures!" He cried.

"Sure." I muttered in reply. "Nice try but I heard the button click." He looked blankly at me and I stuck out my tongue and pointed to one of my wolf ears. "Now, the film?"

Dark approached slowly. "It's ok, let him have it. The worst he can do it put it on the news."

I glared at Dark with a red face. "But I'm not supposed to be here! I can't affect your world!" I caught Takeshi's shirt as he tried to crawl away. "I have to get it so as little people as possible know me for what I really am."

"I'm not letting you have it!" Takeshi cried.

I bared my fangs as my eyes flashed red. "You have two choices, give it to me freely and you'll be released unharmed or I'll have to get serious." I threatened as I tensed my clawed fingers.

Takeshi flinched as several of them cracked. "O-ok…" He stammered as he opened the camera and took out the film.

I snatched it from his hand and grinned warmly at him. "Now that wasn't so bad was it?" I released him and he sat on the ground staring at me. "Well, aren't you supposed to be leaving about now?" I asked. He backed until he was in the bushes and then I heard him stand and run away.

Dark laughed as he went to my side. "I'm glad you're on my side!" He cried.

I grinned at him and crushed the film in my hand. "Lucky you." I whirled around and sniffed the air. "Satoshi, show yourself. I know you're there." I called.

Satoshi emerged from the bushes and smiled. "Very nice." He said. He walked over to me and Dark stepped protectively in between us. Satoshi chuckled. "Don't worry, she just forgot her hat. This should make keeping her secret a little easier." He handed it to me and I stepped around Dark to take it.

"Thank you." I said with a soft smile.

Dark pulled me close again and spun me around. "Now where were we?" He asked with a smile as his lips found mine. Satoshi stepped back slightly. Suddenly I broke free and sank to my knees with my hands clamped to either side of my head. I closed my eyes and Dark knelt beside me. "What wrong?" He asked urgently.

I looked up and placed a finger over his lips with my face turning crimson. "Quiet." I whispered as I closed my eyes again.

I heard Akumei's laugh in my head. _Why is it you're always with boys when I find you?_

_I guess I'm just lucky. _I said with a small laugh as well.

_So, no new injuries this time?_

_Nope, I'm all healed and ready to go._

_Very well, prepare yourself! _The connection broke and I smiled up at Dark as he pulled me to my feet. "It's time for me to go." I sighed.

"Go? But you just got here!" Dark exclaimed angrily. "Why can't you stay?"

I smiled softly at him. "Because my family and friends are back home and I miss them. It's been almost a week since I was separated."

Dark nodded and kissed me one last time. He wiped away the tears that had begun to fall from me. "You're eyes turned blue."

I laughed slightly. "Yes, they do that when I'm sad."

"Well don't be. I'll always remember you, little wolf demon." Dark promised.

I looked up at him. "I'm not little!"

"Then why am I looking down at you? I'm a year older so I can call you little if I want to." Dark teased as he placed a hand on my head and ruffled my hair.

I laughed and smiled up at him. Suddenly I began to glow with a soft while light. Dark grabbed my hand as I began to walk away but I pulled back quickly. At his hurt face I explained. "I don't want you to be transported with me. I can guarantee that they won't take the time to send you back home." I glanced over at Satoshi who was watching quietly and smiled. "Thank you for not breaking the camera. I won't forget either of you ever." I promised.

"Bye…" Satoshi whispered with a light wave and a soft smile.

"Don't let others take advantage of you!" Dark warned.

I laughed at him. "And what have you been doing?"

He shrugged. "But you allowed it."

"Well you were kind of forward. You missed my crimson face?" I watched my hand as it flickered once. "Well, goodbye! I'll miss you both!" I called as I disappeared.

They both stared at the spot where I had just been before exchanging glances. Satoshi walked slowly away but Dark sat down exactly where I had just been standing. Wiz came to his shoulder and whimpered as Dark patted its head. "I know I'll miss her too. If she's a demon she could have lived long enough to be here each generation I appeared." He sighed before lifting into the air and soaring slowly away.

* * *

Akumei sighed. "Well at least this time she went somewhere peaceful to heal." 

Inuyasha looked up sharply. "So she's fine again?"

Akumei nodded. "She's all healed and has received no more injuries."

"Let's hope things stay that way." Kurama pointed out.


	14. Saiyuki

* * *

I screamed as I headed quickly towards the ground below. I placed my arms over my face to block out the fast approaching sand and closed my eyes. I felt myself slowing and reopened them to find that my body was glowing green. I had somehow formed a shield around myself that touched my skin, tracing along my body, and enveloped every part of me but it was transparent enough that I could see through clearly. I flipped myself around to land on my feet and let it dissolve as I touched ground. "Now where am I?" I wondered aloud as I looked around me. Sand was all I could see in every direction. I sniffed the air and turned around suddenly. "What do you want?" I growled. 

A man stood there on the sandy dune slightly above me. He had long, pointed ears and sharp claws. _A demon?_ I thought. He grinned at me and licked his lips. "Your flesh!" It screamed suddenly.

"My… flesh?" I repeated in horror. I spun around as something came speeding at me and caught it in my claws. It was a dagger. I looked up to find that I was now surrounded by the demons. I strung the hat I still held through a belt loop and glared around at them all. "You'd all gang up on a defenseless girl?"

As an answer one of them charged at me, it's claws out. I leapt to the side and clawed its back as it went past. I held my bloody hand in front of my face and bared my fangs. "Tough luck guys, I'm a demon too."

Suddenly they all charged me together and I drew my sword. I slashed at the first wave and they screamed as the blade pierced their skin. Another knife soared at my head and I blocked it with my sword. When I turned my back someone clawed it and I cried out. _There's too many!_ I thought as I fought back wildly. Something zipped past my face and sliced my cheek. I wiped away the trickling blood and screamed as I charged into them. I swung the sword and took out ten in one swipe. _They don't stop coming! Am I going to die here? No, I won't! _My eyes turned to glow red as I stared them down. I swung the sword in my right hand and slashed with my left's claws. Someone's claws found their way to my arm and I spun around and bit him. He screamed and I punched him hard. The bodies were littering the floor but it seemed like they were more numerous than before. Suddenly I stopped and stood still, blocking only for a second. Then I started to spin with the sword outstretched and wave after wave of youkai died from charging at my blade. I slowed and panted as I swiped at more with my claws. Another dagger soared by and sliced my thigh. I grunted and fell to one knee. I held up the sword to block the ones charging head on and placed my back against a sand dune so none could get behind me. I closed my eyes and held out one hand it glowed green for a moment before a huge blast shot from it and fried any youkai in the way. I blinked as my vision blurred and began charging another shot as I defended myself with the sword.

"You look like you could use some help." I jumped and looked to my side where a boy sat crouching next to me. He had dark hair and a glass circle over only his right eye, a monocle. He looked around and then turned back to me with a smile. "You took out a lot by yourself." He acknowledged.

"Look out!" I cried as I blasted another energy wave past the boy's head. Several demons cried out as they were hit.

I jumped again as someone leapt down and landed in front of me. He turned to look at me. I stared back at him with wide eyes. He had crimson red hair to just past his shoulders and crimson eyes to match. "A pretty girl like yourself shouldn't be involved in battles." He said before turning away. I watched as he held out a staff with a blade on the end. Suddenly the blade shot forward and wound it's way along the attacking youkai on a chain.

Another, younger boy leapt beside him. He had dark brown spiked hair and a staff as well. "Hey Gojyo, I want some too!" he yelled before charging into the demons.

I watched in shock as the boy beside me spoke up. "My name is Hakkai. If you'll let me I'll seal your wounds."

I shook my head. "No need to tire yourself, I'll do it myself." My eyes and hands glowed green and I placed them on my back, arm, thigh and cheek and one by one each cut healed up.

"How is she not affected by the Minus Wave?" I jumped and looked to my other side to find a man crouching there with blonde hair. He watched me steadily as I stared back.

_Oh great, I'm in Saiyuki!_ I thought. "Th-the Minus Wave?" I stammered, playing dumb.

"The reason these youkai are going crazy. You are a youkai though you're different somehow. What are you?" The blonde man persisted. My eyes wondered to where the others were still killing. "Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" the blonde man yelled, making me flinch.

Hakkai laughed. "Don't be so hard on her Sanzo." He said.

"I'm a wolf demon…" I muttered.

"But how are you not affected?" Sanzo pressed.

"Well, I have some human in me as well…" I almost whispered the reply.

Gojyo and the boy returned just in time to hear and all four of them stared at me. Gojyo, being a half youkai himself, crouched in front of me. He slowly extended a hand and let my hair fall through his fingers. "But your hair and eyes are not red…" he muttered.

"Well, her eyes were red earlier but they were glowing entirely that way, not naturally." Hakkai said. "What made them do that?"

"The thought that I might die…" I murmured as I looked away.

"Well, what were you doing out here alone?" Hakkai asked. "You must've known it would be dangerous."

I shrugged. "I was transported. There was no way to tell where I'd end up." I stood and put away my sword and the others rose with me. I turned around and peeked over the sand dune. Looking around I still saw nothing for many miles except for the jeep they had left sitting.

"Transported? From where?" Gojyo asked.

I turned to face them. "From my home. I come from an entirely… different…" My eyes drifted close and I collapsed suddenly forward as my voice trailed off. Gojyo, who happened to be in front of me, caught me as I fell and stared around blankly.

"What just happened?" He yelled.

Hakkai laughed. "It seems she's tired. She had killed a good deal by herself and taken quite a bit of damage too."

"She looks fine to me." Gojyo said with a smirk.

"She healed herself." Hakkai explained. "She's quite skilled with her chi."

"You mean those blasts weren't from you?" the youngest one, Goku asked.

"Nope." Hakkai replied.

Sanzo shrugged and began to walk away. "Well, let's go."

"We're not leaving her are we?" Goku shouted.

Sanzo turned to glare at him. "What do I care?" he muttered before getting into the front passenger side of the car.

"In other words, bring her." Hakkai laughed as he got into the drivers seat.

Gojyo and Goku sat in the back with me in the back between them sound asleep. Every now and then Hakkai would call casually, "Gojyo, restrain yourself." Gojyo would just freeze and mutter under his breath as he turned away from me again.

I awoke to the sound of voices around me and kept my eyes closed as I listened. "Do you think she's with Kougaiji?" I heard Sanzo asking.

"No." Hakkai answered. "If she was she wouldn't have been bothered by those youkai and she would've fought us instead of fainting."

My face turned red as I opened my eyes and looked up at the stars. Gojyo jumped as I moved beside him. "She's awake." He pointed out.

I nodded. "Yeah…" I sighed as I caught sight of the moon. I could barely hold back the urge to howl.

"What were you saying before you passed out?" Sanzo asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know…"

"I had asked where you had been transported from." Gojyo said.

"Oh yeah!" I cried. "And I said, from my home. I came from an entirely different world!"

There was a long silence as everyone tried to register what I had just said. "How is that possible?" Hakkai finally asked.

I shrugged again and leaned back in the seat. "Some guy kidnapped me because he was told to send me away forever to another world and had the powers too. He did but my family and friends have him now and are making him bring me back. So now I've been to…" I stopped to count on my fingers. "…Five different worlds, not counting this one or where I started." They all stared at me, even the ones in the front twisted around and I blushed and stared at my feet. "I-it's true…" I stammered.

"And what were these other worlds like?" Hakkai once again broke the silence.

"Well, they're all different but pretty much the same thing happened in each. I fall from the sky and am found by a group of people. I hang out with them and usually get attacked and beat up. Then I get transported somewhere else and heal up and then go get beat up again. It really sucks." I responded hatefully.

"Sounds rough. Don't you need an escape from it all?" Gojyo asked as he placed an arm around me.

I laughed nervously as Sanzo turned around in his seat. "Oy kappa, sexual harassment!" He glared at me. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen." I muttered.

Gojyo laughed. "She's three years younger than Goku and I think she's taller than him!" He waited for the reaction but it didn't come. "What's wrong midget monkey?" He teased. I glanced at Goku and held in a laugh. He was asleep with his mouth wide open and drool was dribbling quickly down his chin. Gojyo rolled his eyes. "Why do we even have this kid along?"

"Then why do you have me along?" I added.

"We needed to know more about you." Sanzo said.

"You _needed_ to?" I asked.

Sanzo didn't answer so Gojyo did instead. "Like how are you a half with black hair and green eyes?"

"Well…" I began. "Where I'm from even if you have a human mother and a demon father you can still end up full demon. My brother did but my other did not. My half demon brother has silver hair and golden eyes If you're a half demon there is one night when you turn human. For my brother and me it is during every night of the new moon. I only turn human for half the night but he does for the whole thing."

"Why are you different?" Hakkai asked.

"We both have the same demon father but my mother was a half wolf demon. I ended up being about three fourths demon and the rest human so I change for just half the night." I explained.

"What does your human form look like?" Gojyo asked with a smirk.

I blushed as I answered. "My hair turns silver, my eyes ice blue, I loose the markings on my face and my claws and fangs disappear as well as my ears and tail."

"Do you have a lover?" He added, pointing to the locket around my neck.

I blushed much darker as I held it. "I don't know… but this holds pictures of my family." I took it off and opened itto let Gojyo see and he passed it around for the others before I returned it safely to my neck.

"So, we know quite a bit about you, what do you know about us?" Hakkai asked.

"Uh… let's see." I started. "You saved me from those youkai and you're all older than me."

Hakkai laughed. "Anything else?"

I thought for a second. "How about… You're a half demon." I said to Gojyo. I sniffed the air lightly. "Hakkai and Goku are youkai and Sanzo is a human."

Sanzo whirled around to glare at me. "She must be with him, if she was just a random youkai she wouldn't have known!" He muttered.

I flinched under his harsh glare. "But I told you, I'm a wolf demon! I can tell by your scent what you are!" I cried.

"It makes sense Sanzo." Hakkai agreed. "And she hasn't tried to harm us in any way."

"She's just waiting until we trust her." Sanzo spat.

My eyes swirled blue. "That's not true…" I whimpered. "I wouldn't hurt you guys!"

"But you have killed before, something other than those youkai. A human maybe?" Sanzo asked.

I looked up and felt a tear fall. "But that didn't count! It was like an illusion. I didn't really kill him!"

"But if he was real he would've been dead!" Sanzo yelled back.

"You're right…" I whispered. "I would've killed someone. It would've been all my fault!" I buried my face in my hands and started crying. I knew Sanzo hadn't really been there but he was talking like he had stood by and watched the whole thing! I was already hurting enough over it and this wasn't helping.

Gojyo wrapped an arm around me. "Shut up! You're making her feel bad enough! It's obvious that she's young and hasn't learned to deal with killing yet!" He yelled at Sanzo. "It's not like you haven't killed any humans before!" He raised my face and smiled at me. "Don't cry. I can't stand to see pretty girls cry."

I wiped some tears away and tried to hold more back. "I'm sorry…" I whispered and then grew quiet. He pulled me towards him and I didn't resist and just leaned on him as he comforted me.

After a few hours of driving Goku sat upright and stared around. "I'm hungry." He declared. He glanced at Gojyo who still held me and at Sanzo who was scowling at the passing scenery. Hakkai looked straight ahead as he drove. "What… did I miss?" Goku asked.

"Just the usual fights." Hakkai answered.

"Then why is she upset?" Goku asked, pointing to me.

"Sanzo's an idiot!" Gojyo yelled.

"I'll kill you!" Sanzo screamed back.

"What happened?" Goku asked again.

"We had a question and answer session that ended badly." Hakkai replied calmly.

"So what do we know about her?" Goku questioned.

"Well, basically she's a half wolf demon from another world who is transporting between worlds until she makes it back to her own. She's fifteen and easily decided which of us were human and which were youkai. That's what started the fight. Sanzo believes she's trying to kill us all." Hakkai said casually.

"She is." Sanzo muttered.

"Drop it!" Gojyo yelled. "She can't even handle the memory of killing an illusion!"

Goku laughed. "Well that's pathetic. How'd she manage to kill all those youkai then?"

"Those youkai were mindless. What's haunting her is a human's death." Hakkai replied.

"But you said it was just an illusion. What's the big deal?" Goku asked.

I looked up at him slowly. "I had been beaten up very badly by him and I lost control and transformed into a wolf. I leapt on him and started biting… Everything felt so real!"

"But it wasn't right?" Goku asked and I nodded. "So then don't worry about it."

I smiled at him. "You're right." I said softly as I pulled away from Gojyo and sat up straight, ignoring his silentprotests.

"So then what's her name?" Goku asked.

There was a pause and then Hakkai laughed. "Well I think that's the one thing we left out."

"I'm Kira." I answered.

"Well Kira, you can stay with us until it's time for you to find another world." Goku cried.

"Uh, ok." I said slowly with a soft grin. "Thank you."

"No she can't!" Sanzo cried angrily. "It's dangerous to stay with us!"

"I can look after myself!" I muttered.

"You couldn't even handle those youkai." Gojyo pointed out.

I blushed and looked down. "Well there were a lot of them. If I hadn't been taken I would be training right now."

"Right now? Like this early in the morning?" Goku asked. The sun was just beginning to rise.

I nodded. "Oneperson whotrains medoesn't like the others to watch so he takes me at night. As soon as I get back the others take me during the day. I don't get to sleep much…Eventually I pass out but as soon as I wake they start things up again."

"What's the longest you've gone straight training without stopping to eat or sleep?" Gojyo asked with a smirk.

I paused for a second. "A bit over a week so around eight or nine days I guess."

Goku's mouth fell open. "A week without food? What were you doing for that long?"

I laughed. "Learning how to fight in my wolf form in case I lost my sword."

"Do you want me to train you?" Gojyo smirked.

"That depends, train me about what?" I asked.

Hakkai laughed. "Watch out, she's a smart one Gojyo."

"Shut up!" Gojyo yelled back. He turned back to me. "What are you training for?"

"Some friends of mine had some of their friends kidnapped so they would be forced to enter a tournament. The tournament is for the strongest demons from all over and they fight to the death until one team remains. My friends won it last time and cost a lot of people tons of money so now they want revenge. Their old fifth member refused to join up again so I'm supposed to be their back up fighter if they need me." I explained.

"Why would they pick a little girl?" Goku asked.

"She's taller than you midget monkey!" Gojyo laughed.

"Shut up!" Goku yelled back.

I held out my hands to stop them. "If it bothers you I'll shrink myself some!" I offered with a grin.

"Shrink yourself?" Goku repeated blankly.

I nodded and closed my eyes. When I reopened them I was about five foot three, an inch shorter than Goku. "That better?" I asked with a laugh. Goku stared at me for a second before laughing too and nodding. "Anyway," I continued. "They picked me because they realized that I had a massive amount of energy inside that needed to be awakened. If they taught me to use it properly then I could be very tough to beat. They unleashed it and now have been trying to help me learn to control it."

Hakkai laughed nervously. "So you shot a blast right past my head that you weren't sure you could control?"

"No, I knew I could do that. I had done another just before you came. I'm getting fairly good at shaping my energy."

"Shaping it?" Hakkai asked. He also used energy to fight and was constantly looking for new things to try.

I nodded and held out my hand. All I did was glance at it and immediately a ball of neon green light appeared in it. I held it up. "What good will that do you?" Gojyo asked.

"Well, I can make it explode or just throw it at something. I've never tried but maybe I could have it change shape again right before it hit the target to throw them off." I explained.

"What else can you make?" Hakkai asked eagerly.

I hesitated. "Well, I'm not supposed to be here really. What if I mess something up or change the outcome of something?"

"Exactly why you should leave." Sanzo added.

I looked down at the floor and let the ball sizzle into nothing as I thought to myself. _Everywhere that I've gone I was quickly accepted. Even Legato accepted me. Why won't he? _I stopped Gojyo before he could yell back. "He's right. Maybe I'll just wait at the next town and try to blend in a little."

"Hate to break it to you but you stand out easily, even if you do manage to hide the ears and tail." Gojyo said. "You'll still have the markings on your face and the claws and fangs. Plus, your clothes are weird and shredded."

I looked down at my self and noticed that the leg of my jeans was ripped as well as my sleeve and claws had removed large streaks of the back of my shirt. "Oh yeah…" I sighed.

"We'll get you new clothes at that town up ahead." Hakkai assured me.

"You don't need to spend stuff on me…" I muttered as I leaned forward and stuck my head between the front seats so I could see the town better. I let out a little shriek as something stroked my bare back. I spun around and stared at Gojyo.

He grinned at me. "Your skin is very soft." I blushed and remained silent as I pressed back against the seat behind me once again.

As we drove into town I slammed the hat upon my head and lowered my face as everyone stared. It was rare to see a car. Hakkai stopped and turned to a woman who stood watching. "Where might we find a hotel, preferably one with parking?" He asked. Without a word she raised a hand and pointed ahead. "Thank you." Hakkai said as he continued. We pulled shortly after up to a building and they all piled out of the car. They had me come with them inside so I obeyed and followed. Hakkai went to the counter and came back shortly with an awkward grin. "There's only one room left." He said, glancing towards me.

Sanzo clenched his fist. "Did you take it?" Hakkai nodded. "Why does this always happen to us?" He muttered.

"The man has kindly offered us mats to sleep on." Hakkai added cheerfully. "All we have to do is ask."

We all trailed up the stairs and into the cramped room that we were to stay in. I looked around and laughed nervously. "Maybe I should sleep in the car…" I muttered.

"That's dangerous, you never know what could come by!" Gojyo replied.

"Same as inside." Hakkai added.

"I get the bed!" Goku shouted as he leapt on it.

"No way!" Gojyo screamed back as he attacked him. "I do!"

While they were wrestling around on the bed Hakkai held out some cards. "How about we play for it?" He suggested.

All four of them sat on the ground and gave out cards. Hakkai turned towards me. "Will you join in?"

I shook my head. "Don't waste anything on me. I'm fine on the floor." I sat down near them and contented myself with watching.

About an hour later Hakkai held out his hand. "Looks like I win again!" He said happily.

"Hakkai always wins with cards!" Goku complained. "But I'm still getting the bed!" he added as he leapt on it again.

"No!" Gojyo yelled. "I don't know about you homos but I'm not sleeping on the floor in between a bunch of guys!" He jumped on Goku and the bed and they started fighting each other. I watched helplessly until Hakkai tapped my shoulder.

"Do you want to find some new clothes now?" He asked and I nodded. Gojyo jumped from the bed.

"Ok, let's go." He said.

"You all don't have to come!" I cried.

"It's boring to wait around here." Goku replied.

"And I don't trust you alone with any of us." Sanzo added. I stopped and stared up at him and he glared right back. We kept it up for almost five minutes with neither of us blinking before Hakkai grabbed my shoulders.

"That's enough of that!" He said as he steered me down the stairs. "Let's go."

I clamped the hat down on my head as he went down the street and stared at the ground as I followed the others through the crowds. I was always aware of Sanzo's eyes piercing into my back and it was bothering me badly. We finally entered a store and Hakkai brought me to a person who worked there. His eyes widened for a second as he looked at me and pointed us towards the girl's clothes. I glared at them all. "They're little. And tight." I muttered as I held up a shirt.

"Yeah, you need more of those." Gojyo said.

"But I like big and baggy!" I cried as I pulled at my borrowed shirt.

"Then we won't get you anything." Sanzo threatened.

"Fine!" I glared back.

Hakkai reached over and pulled something off the shelf. "We're getting these. If you want to you can wear them."

I looked at what he held. "Ok…" I muttered. Hakkai paid for them and pushed me into a changing room where I slipped them on and then came quickly back out. The black shirt was sleeveless, low cut, barely managed to cover my stomach and was tight everywhere. The jean shorts were just as bad, very short and tight.

"More pretty girls should start wearing that!" Gojyo exclaimed.

I blushed and glared at everyone but then thought about it and sighed. They didn't have to get me anything. "Thank you." I smiled at them and we left the store. As we went down the road I noticed that I was pretty much the only girl in these little slinky clothes and turned to Hakkai angrily. "I'm the only one dressed like this!" I pointed across the street. "There's the store with normal clothes! I can't hide my tail like this." I added quietly.

Hakkai laughed uneasily and rubbed his neck. "Well I must have missed it…" Gojyo clapped him on the back with a wide grin at me but I just glared angrily back.

"Let's go eat, let's go eat!" Goku chanted, suddenly breaking the tension, so we headed down the street to look for a place. Of course they headed to a bar and all entered as I paused at the door. "What's wrong?" Goku asked.

I shook my head and stepped slowly in. "Last time I was at a place like this I got shot in the shoulder." I muttered, looking around carefully.

"Well, we'll watch out for you this time." Hakkai assured me and I smiled softly as I sat at a table with them.

I got just a little meal and laughed as Goku pigged out and Gojyo poured tons of alcohol down his throat. He kept offering me some but I refused every time. "I'm underage." I would use as my excuse.

"But this is like a vacation." Gojyo insisted.

I shook my head and laughed. "Yeah, the vacation from hell that I can't escape from..." I shrieked as someone stroked a finger along my back and whirled around in my seat. A group of human men were standing behind me with one slightly in front and grinning at me. His face was red from being drunk and his eyes were droopy. "What do you want?" I yelled at him.

He laughed. "Don't be so mean girl, I just want to get to know you better."

"Well I don't so go away." I said, glaring at him.

Instead the man grabbed my wrist and started pulling me to my feet. I cried out and punched him full out in the stomach causing him to let go and fall to his knees out of breath. A couple of his friends went to his side and the other two advanced slowly towards me. I squealed and ducked behind Gojyo who got to his feet. He grinned wickedly and cracked his knuckles. "Do you want to start something?" He growled.

The man who I had hit got slowly to his feet and shoved away the ones who had helped him up. He came over to us. "Hand her over and you won't get hurt." He muttered.

Sanzo got to his feet and shoved through the ones who had circled behind us. "I don't have time to waste on you."

"What'd you say?" A man yelled as he ran at him with a fist raised. Without even turning around Sanzo slammed him full in the face causing him to flip over the table.

The manager came running from the counter. "Hey! I don't want any trouble!"

Gojyo was still staring them all down and the humans were backing away, growing nervous under his stares. I tapped his shoulder. "Hey, Sanzo's leaving. Let's go too." I muttered. He ignored me so I latched onto his arm with both hands and he looked down at me in surprise. I looked up at him worriedly. "I said let's go. It's not worth it for humans." I whispered. He nodded and allowed me to lead him out the door. Goku shoved the last of his food in his mouth and hurried after us. Hakkai had gone ahead and the men just stared after us as we left.

As we met up with Sanzo and Hakkai, Gojyo began complaining to me. "Why'd you make me leave? They were asking for it…"

"I already hit the only one who did anything and I thought you guys didn't want tons of attention." I explained softly. "It's getting dark, let's go back to the room."

Everyone agreed and as we made our way back to the hotel I didn't sense Sanzo's eyes boring into me as harshly as before. When we entered through the doors Sanzo motioned for the others to head upstairs but he held me back with him. "You had no right to start a fight like that." He scolded me.

"I didn't start it… You guys were the ones who promised you wouldn't let any freaks try anything." I muttered quietly. "And I couldn't let him get away with that." Sanzo didn't reply but instead turned to go up the stairs after the others but stopped at my whisper. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" He asked. "For what?"

I looked up at him with blue eyes and forming tears. "You didn't want to bring me anyway and I've been nothing but trouble. I'm really sorry that you've had to deal with me. If you want I'll just leave right now." I whispered.

I jumped slightly as his hand found my face. He stared down at me with an emotionless face. "You haven't caused any more trouble than we usually get into. Don't worry about it. Ask the owner for mats and then join us upstairs."

I wiped away tears and smiled at him. "Ok." I replied softly and headed towards the owner of the hotel. I told him what I needed and he handed it all to me.

As I gathered it into my arms and turned to leave he called me back. "Are you sure you want to share a room with all those men?" He asked, trying to hide a smirk. "I could offer you one."

I looked at him, a man of around thirty, several years older than the eldest of the ones I was staying with and twice my own age. I smiled warmly at him. "Thank you but I'll take my chances with them."

"Ok, suit yourself." He replied as he watched me disappear around the corner upstairs.

I went down the hall and knocked slightly on the door as it swung open for me and I entered. Slowly I laid all the mats on the floor and backed away when I finished. Goku looked from me to the mats and then back to me again. "You're missing one."

I shook my head. "It's ok. I'm not even sure if the man had any more than this anyway."

Goku shrugged before launching himself onto the bed and sprawling out. Hakkai laughed before he lifted him forcefully up and set him on one of the mats. Then he sat on the bed instead. "We should all get some sleep."

I started to sit down somewhere but suddenly looked up, picking up the camera bag that I had left in the room. "Can I make a request?" I asked.

"What kind of request?" Sanzo asked, eyeing the bag warily.

"One picture of all you guys." I responded as I pulled out the camera. "You guys just clump together and I take a picture."

"What for?" Goku asked.

"I'm trying to get a picture of all the people I meet during this crap I'm going through right now." I answered. "So… how about it?"

Gojyo shrugged. "Why not, are you going to be in it with us?"

I laughed. "If you want me too…" He nodded so I had them all group together, even Sanzo, and then set the camera on a shelf of energy. I aimed it at them and then jumped in the middle. "When the red light disappears." I explained. Gojyo put an arm around me and Hakkai smiled straight ahead. Goku was totally lost and Sanzo was standing slightly to the side. With a bright flash the picture took and I put the camera back into the bag. "Thank you!" I cried happily before retiring to a corner of the room.

Gojyo looked over at me. "Want to share a bed?" He asked with a smirk.

My face turned bright red. "N-no thanks." I stammered as I sank down against the wall. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I set my chin on them as well and I laughed as I watched Sanzo, Gojyo and Goku try to get comfortable on the floor as Hakkai watched from above on the bed. When everyone was finally settled down Goku was sprawled out with the covers half on and Gojyo was sitting slumped against the bed. Sanzo was off to the side away from everyone. After a while longer the room was full of only silence and I fought to keep my eyes open. I slipped an arm around my sword and leaned on it to keep from falling over. Soon I couldn't help it and was asleep against the powerful weapon.

In the middle of the night I felt something touch my face and instinctively reached out and grabbed it. My eyes snapped open and I looked up to find Gojyo peering at me and his hand locked in mine. "Sorry!" I whispered with a bright face as I let him go.

He grinned. "It's alright." He scooted over and leaned against the wall beside me. I shifted uncomfortably and he glanced over at me. "Am I really that bad?" he asked.

"No, I just get nervous easily…" I muttered.

He stared at my red face. "And embarrassed it seems."

"I can't help it." I sighed. It grew quiet again and he still remained by my side. After about another hour of silence and no movement I began to fall into darkness again and wasn't even aware of my head slipping. My legs released and began sliding forward as I fell asleep again. Before I knew it my head was resting on Gojyo's shoulder and I was out cold.

Suddenly a bright flash went off in my face and I jolted awake. Gojyo, who had fallen asleep on me as well sat upright too and leapt forward onto Goku. I snatched away the shiny silver thing he held to find my camera. "Who said you could have this?" I whispered angrily. Sanzo and Hakkai appeared to still be asleep.

Goku grinned. "I thought you wanted pictures of yourself with us."

"I do but…" I stopped as I held up the humming camera. "You've used up all the film. Now I have to put more in!" I leaned back against the wall with the camera and its bag in my lap and carefully removed the film and placed a new one inside. I dropped the full roll into a container and back into the bag. The camera was slid in after it and then I set the whole thing onto my lap. "Ok, no one else gets to play with it." I said quietly.

Suddenly I fell back against the wall with my hands clamped over my ears. Gojyo and Goku leapt to my side. "What's wrong?" They asked.

I shook my head. "Quiet! It's Akumei." By this time Sanzo and Hakkai had been awakened and came over as well. _Kira?_

_I'm here._

_Are you ok? Any new injuries?_

_They were minor and they're all fixed now._

_What happened?_

_A group of demons attacked but some people saved me. I'm with them now._

_Ok, are you ready to go?_

_Yes._

_Ok, prepare yourself. _Akumei's voice faded and I looked up at everyone. "I have to go now. Thank you so much for everything." I smiled as I buckled the sword around my waist and the camera bag around my shoulder.

"Where exactly are you going?" Sanzo asked.

I shrugged. "Hopefully back home but it's all chance really."

"Good luck." Goku said and I smiled at him.

"Thank you." I said as I hugged him lightly with a red face. Next I hugged Gojyo, who happily embraced me back, and then Hakkai. Sanzo didn't seem like he would pull away so I surprised everyone, including him,by hugging him as well. I quickly let go as I started to glow. I backed away a few steps and smiled at everyone. "Thanks for putting up with me." I said one last time.

Gojyo laughed. "You're blushing again."

I sighed and laughed as well. "I told you I can't help it. I'll never forget you guys." I added as I began to flicker.

"Bye…" Hakkai called as I disappeared from the room. He turned to the others. "You know, I think she really was from another world." He said with a laugh.

Sanzo turned away. "Let's get as much sleep as we can from the rest of the night. She'll be fine."

The others stared at him for a second before shrugging and dropping down to sleep once again.

* * *

Akumei leaned back, a smile plastered across his face and Inuyasha leapt forward to land at his side. "You're smiling. Does that mean she's back?" He asked, frantically sniffing the air for signs of me. 

Akumei shook his head. "No, it's just that she was ok. For once nothing criticalhappened to her."

"Feh, well find her quick then!" Inuyasha growled in frustration as he backed away to return to the others.

Akumei sighed as he leaned back against the tree. "I'm trying..." He said quietly.


	15. Ranma

* * *

With a short shriek I fell hard towards the ground but managed to flip around so I was going feet, or more like butt, first. As I neared impact I prepared myself to use the shield thing to slow down but was distracted by voices. "Ranma! I challenge you!" _Ranma?_ I thought to myself, forgetting totally that I was falling. 

"What do you want?" I heard a lazy reply that I assumed came from Ranma. "Wait, what's that?"

I suddenly stopped moving and looked up to find myself in someone's arms. I looked at who it was and found myself staring into the surprised face of Ryoga. He looked at me in shock and I looked down. "Umm, we're falling." I said. He had jumped up to catch me.

With a cry of alarm he looked down and realized it too. Right before we hit I was taken from him and carried to safety. "And who… or _what_ are you?" I looked over this time to find myself in the arms of Ranma.

"Uh…" I flinched at the sound of Ryoga hitting the ground. "Is he ok?"

Ranma shrugged. "Yeah, whatever." He landed nimbly and a girl ran over to us.

Ranma let me down as she approached so I got to look at her too. It was Akane. "Who are you? Another friend of Ranma's?" She asked, sending him a glare.

I shook my head. "I'm nobody, just hanging out."

"Hanging out?" Akane repeated. "In the sky?"

I laughed. "Yeah, that's not very convincing is it?" I looked around, suddenly aware of the large crowd gathering and realized that I didn't have my hat anymore. "Crap." I muttered. Ranma took my hand and led me away. "Who are they?" I asked.

"Pretty much the whole school." Ranma muttered.

Suddenly someone grabbed the back of my shirt and my hand slipped from Ranma's as I fell back into someone else. "You are an angel from the sky!" He cried. I turned to stare at him. "I am upper classman Kuno. Please go out on a date with me?"

I stared at him but before I could reply Ranma jumped up and landed on his head. "Back off." He muttered before landing a kick. He pulled me with him and Akane as we all hurried to Akane's house.

Once there Akane's father leapt out at us. "Ranma, what do you think you are doing?" He screamed as Ranma cowered back.

I jumped between them. "No! It's nothing like that!" I cried, waving my hands around.

He turned to me. "And who are you?" He asked, looking me up and down.

"Just passing through!" I explained simply. "Oh, and my name's Kira."

"Well I'm Ranma." Ranma said. "And that's Akane." He said, pointing to her.

"Hello." She smiled with a wave.

I looked around. "Um, aren't you two supposed to be at school?"

Ranma coughed. "Ha! I hate school…"

I shrieked as a giant panda ran out of the next room and smacked Ranma upon the head. Ranma whirled around and hit it right back. "Watch it old man!"

I stared as the panda looked at me and held up a sign that read 'I'm Ranma's dad.' "Ok…" I said slowly.

Ryoga suddenly burst through the door. "Ranma! Our fight was interrupted!" He yelled but stopped dead when he saw me. His face turned red and he looked down. "My name's Ryoga." He said, as his fingers fidgeted. "Who are you?"

"Uh, I'm Kira." I replied and then turned to everyone with a smile. "It's nice to meet you all. Can I have a picture?"

They all fell back in surprise at my sudden request. "What for?" Ranma yelled.

"I'm trying to keep track of all the places I go during my travels." I responded.

"Oh really?" Akane asked. "Where have you been so far?"

I laughed. "You're not going to believe me even if I told you."

"Try me." Ranma muttered.

I sighed. "Ok, I was kidnapped and sent away to another world. Now my friends have him and are making him bring me back. Every time he transports me to a different world but he as no idea what world it will be so I don't know when or if I'll ever make it back." I stopped and looked around at the shocked faces, waiting for a response. Suddenly Ranma burst out laughing and I glared at him with a red face. "What's so funny?" I yelled.

"You expect us to believe that?" Ranma chuckled.

"I told you that you wouldn't believe me but it's true so shut up!" I snarled. My eyes flashed red and everyone quieted except for Ranma who was too busy laughing to see. Ryoga slammed his fist into Ranma's head, causing him to go into a light daze. "Thank you." I muttered to Ryoga, unclenching my fists.

"What are you?" Ryoga asked, his face bright red.

"You're not going to believe this either but a wolf demon. I actually have some human in me as well…" I replied. "Oh and a bit of dog demon too I guess."

Ranma was already better and he kicked Ryoga in the back of the head and stared at me. "A demon? Let's see some proof."

Akane turned to him. "You can tell by looking at her!" She cried.

Ranma turned to stare at me as one of my ears twitched. "Hmm…" He said as he came to my side. He pulled at my ears and I glared at him.

"What are you doing?" I yelled as I clenched my fists.

"You mean they're not fake?" he asked.

"No!" I shouted. "So stop it!"

He shrugged and backed away. "So how long will you be here?"

"I don't know, until Akumei contacts me. He's the one who sent me away in the first place." I replied.

"You could stay here until he does." Akane spoke up.

I smiled and nodded. "Thank you! That would be great." I looked around. "This is a dojo isn't it?" Akane nodded so I continued. "So are there people here who would fight me?"

Ryoga had recovered again and stared at me. "Why would you want to fight someone?"

"I've been really slack in my training because of this whole thing and it's going to get me into trouble when I go back and suck at fighting." I responded.

"What are you training for?" Ranma asked.

"It's a tournament. I'm supposed to be the fifth member for my friend's team."

"What kind of tournament?" Ryoga asked next.

"An anything goes kind." I replied. "And I'm definitely not ready. Tons of other much stronger demons will be there."

Ranma grinned and cracked his knuckles. "I'll fight you." He said.

"You can't fight her, she's a girl!" Ryoga cried.

"Hey, girls can fight just as well as any guy!" I yelled.

Ranma nodded and we all went over to the dojo to have our match. I unbuckled my sword and camera bag and set them on the ground. Realizing I hadn't done it yet I picked up the camera again and turned towards everyone. "We haven't taken the picture." I grinned.

Eventually I got Ranma, his father, Akane, Akane's sisters and father, Ryoga and myself all crammed together for the picture. It flashed and I put it quickly away before turning to Ranma. "I won't use weapons or any powers. It'll just be hand to hand, ok?" I asked.

Ranma nodded. "Let's go." He smirked. "Ready when you are."

"Ok then, I'll make the first move!" I cried as I sprang forward, landing a blow into Ranma's stomach.

He fell back and staggered to his feet. "You're pretty fast."

I grinned. "Thanks." I jumped to the side as he ran at me and dodged his punch. I attempted one of my own but he spun around and caught my fist in his. We sprang apart and ran at each other again. This time Ranma leapt into the air and came down towards the back of my head. My ears twitched and I reached up, catching his foot before it hit and slammed him to the floor. He jumped back up and came at me once more landing a blow to my side. I skidded across the floor on my bare feet and glanced up in time to catch his fist again.

Meanwhile, the others were standing by watching with open mouths. "She's good." Akane said.

Ryoga nodded. "Maybe I'll try her next."

"Ok Ryoga!" I cried with a laugh as I caught Ranma's fist again. "I'll take you next!"

"If you have anything left!" Ranma added as he caught me in the cheek.

I rubbed it and turned towards him. "That one stung!" I said sticking out my tongue as we continued again.

Akane shook her head. "This might be a while."

"Hey, you said you wouldn't use your powers during this. What powers do you have?" Ranma asked as he dodged another attack.

I smirked. "Want me to show you?" He nodded and I grinned. "You asked for it." I raised my hand and a small ball of light appeared in it. "I'll go easy on you." I laughed as I through it at him.

Ranma ducked and turned to watch it asit flew past his head. "Ha, you miss-" He was cut off as another ball slammed him flat in the face as he turned back to face me.

I ran to his side. "You dropped your guard." I said as I offered a hand.

He took it and got to his feet, rubbing his nose. "What are those?"

I held out my hand and made another one as the others gathered around. "It's my spirit energy. I'm just learning how to use it but I've gotten pretty good at a few things. I didn't want to hurt you so I used just the very basics right then."

"So what else can you do?" Ranma asked.

"I can shape it into pretty much anything, a sword, bow and arrow, baseball bat… you name it! I could've made those balls explode before they hit you but it would've hurt a lot more. I could blow up this whole house if I wanted to!" I said with a grin. "But only if I wanted to." I added at the startled face of Akane's dad. I turned to Ryoga. "Still want to fight? I won't use any powers for you either." I offered.

He smiled and accepted so we both went to the middle of the floor. "I won't hold back either." He warned.

I just grinned. "Good, I need some real practice."

As we ran at each other Akane turned to Ranma as they sat on the sidelines. "How is she really?"

Ranma rubbed his nose again. "I think she was holding back even before the energy. She's too scared of hurting someone to seriously fight."

"So she did that well without using her full abilities?" Akane asked with wide eyes. Ranma nodded as they turned back to our fight.

Ryoga swung at me but I nimbly dodged and hit him in the chest. He stumbled backwards and then recovered, catching my next blow. He swung me to the ground and I landed flat on my back, rolling to the side as he punched where my head had just been. I stared at the hole he left in the floor before springing away again. "Heh, that's pretty scary." I muttered.

"Want to stop?" Ryoga asked.

"No way!" I cried as we faced each other down. Suddenly something burst through the wall and landed right on top of Ryoga. "Uh, Ryoga?" I called in surprise. The thing that had entered was a blue haired girl on a bicycle.

She held out a package and called, "Delivery from Cat Café."

Akane's dad, Mr. Tendo raised his hand. "Thank you Shampoo." He said as he paid her.

"Dad!" Akane yelled.

Shampoo latched herself onto Ranma and stared at me as I went to see if Ryoga was ok. "Who she?" Shampoo asked.

"Her name's Kira and she is just visiting." Ranma answered as he tried to push Shampoo off of himself.

I picked up the bike and moved it over as I crouched beside the dazed Ryoga. "Are you ok?" I asked him.

Slowly he sat up and rubbed his head. "Yeah…" He muttered.

I smiled at him. "Good. Let's take a break, ok?" He nodded and we went over to the others where I was introduced to Shampoo. Suddenly a blur darted past Ranma's head and launched itself at me. I screamed as I pried it off of my chest. It was a tiny old man who was staring at me very hard. Without a second thought I threw him away and he landed head first into a wall.

"Master?" Mr. Tendo said quietly.

I sat there glaring at him. "Who is that freak?" I yelled.

"Happosai." Ranma said simply.

I blinked. "Happosai?" I repeated.

The old man hopped back up and ran towards me. "You called?" He cried as he flew at me again. I held up a fist and he slammed right into it, falling to the floor. He got up again with tears coming down his face. "What have I ever done to you?" He cried. When he saw I wasn't feeling for him he spoke again. "How can I resist if you're wearing that? I wish Akane would wear more stuff like you!"

I growled and smacked him on the top of the head. "My old clothes were torn up so this was the only other thing I could get!" I yelled.

Akane took my arm and pulled me after her. "We'll get you changed but that doesn't mean he'll leave you alone." She warned. We went down a hall and into her room where she dug around in a closet. She emerged with some grey, fairly baggy pants and a white sleeveless training shirt, which I gratefully accepted. After first checking for signs of Happosai I changed and thanked her happily. Afterwards we returned to the others who had moved to another room and were sitting around a table. Shampoo seemed to have left already.

Happosai turned towards me with a crushed face. "How could you?" He cried mournfully.

"Shut up freak." I responded hotly and he turned away, obviously hurt.

"Let's go." Ranma said suddenly as he came over to Akane and me.

"To where?" Akane asked.

Ranma shrugged. "I don't care, away from him." He said, nodding towards Happosai. We all agreed and quickly left the house, first pausing to let me get my sword and camera in case I left while we were walking. Wandering the streets many people stared at me with my strange colored hair, face markings and wolf ears and tail. All it took was one glare from me to send them on their way.

As we continued wandering aimlessly my ear twitched and I darted to the side as a man landed where I had just been standing. "What do you want?" I yelled as I stared at him.

He grinned and then lunged at me with a pair of scissors. I cried out in alarm and struck out at him, landing a slap in the face. He fell back rubbing his cheek. Ranma and Akane came to my side. "What do you want?" Ranma muttered.

"H-he attacked me!" I stammered as I held my hair.

"He'sour principal." Akane explained. "He wants to get all the students to cut their hair."

"I'm not a student!" I yelled at him.

"But you're the right age. Are you skipping school?" The principal asked as he got to his feet and held up the scissors.

"I don't go to this school!" I screamed as he lunged again at me.

Ranma jumped up and landed on his head, forcing him face first into the sidewalk. "Let's go." He muttered as he stepped off and walked down the street. With a glance back at the knocked cold principal Akane and I hurried after him.

"Wow, it's scary to walk the streets here." I laughed once we were a good distance away.

"What's your home like?" Akane asked me.

"Well…" I began. "You can see that I'm a demon so it's normal to have demons roaming around constantly. I have two older brothers but they're really only half brothers. We have different mothers. They treat me like I'm their real sister though and have taught me how to defend myself. You have to constantly be on guard, especially when you're hanging with my brother."

"Why?" Ranma asked.

"He's got some psycho freak out to kill him." I sighed.

Everyone grew quiet again as we continued down the road. I jumped as someone tapped me on the shoulder and turned to find Ryoga. "We never finished our fight." He said quietly.

I nodded and grinned. "You want to continue?" We walked to a nearby park where not too many people were and stood, staring each other down with Ranma and Akane watching from the sidelines. "Ready?" I asked.

Ryoga smiled. "Yeah." He ran at me and threw a punch that I ducked under and then I swung at him. He caught my wrist and kicked my legs from under me. He punched towards my head but I rolled to the side and shrank away from the small crater he had made.

I shivered as I thought about that being my head. I ran at him but he stepped to the side at the last minute and slammed a fist into my stomach. I staggered for a second and then regained balance. Ryoga stared at me in surprise and I laughed. "You expected that to take me out?"

"Well, yeah." Ryoga replied. "How are you still perfectly fine?"

I shrugged. "I got hit so many times while trying to perfect a technique that I'm used to it."

"What technique?" Ryoga asked.

I grinned. "Want to see it first hand?" He nodded and I ran at him suddenly and leapt into the air.

Ryoga laughed. "You're technique leaves you open to attacks!" He shouted as he leapt up to meet me. He gasped as my shape changed right before we collided and I hit him head on. We fell to the ground, landing with him pinned underneath me. I placed a paw on each of his shoulders and snarled into his face as he stared up at me with a face mixed with shock and terror.

Ranma and Akane leapt up and ran over to us. As they approached I backed off, allowing Ryoga to sit up and he stared at me. I sat down in the grass and cocked my head as I stared back, slightly panting. "What happened?" Ranma asked as he crouched between us.

"She… changed in midair." Ryoga answered slowly.

Akane approached me slowly and I bowed my head to show I meant no harm. She smiled and reached out to scratch my ears. I wagged my tail and she laughed. Ranma and Ryoga crouched on either side of me. "She's a wolf?" Ranma asked.

I backed away from them and changed myself back and started to laugh. "Cool skill, huh?" I asked with a grin. "Totally caught you off guard." I added to Ryoga.

He nodded. "I definitely didn't expect that."

"I don't think anyone would." Akane added. "You'll do great in that tournament."

I shook my head sadly. "I'm not strong enough yet. I'm fighting demons whose main goal will be to kill our whole team. I have to train harder."

"Well, why are you fighting in a tournament like that?" Ryoga asked.

"I don't want my friends to get killed. They need a tough fifth member and they picked me because of my hidden powers."

"The energy?" Ranma asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, once they teach me to use it right I'll be really tough. Until then I'll have to make due with my demonic powers and what I know so far about the energy."

"You seem strong enough to me." Akane encouraged.

I smiled at her. "Thanks. I might be but I have to be sure. I have no idea who our opponents will be nor how strong they are."

Ranma stood and popped his knuckles. "Then we'll train you until it's time for you to leave."

I laughed. "Are you sure you're up to it? I've trained for a week straight without food or sleeping breaks once."

Akane stared at me. "Really? What kept you going?"

"The thought of visiting my brother. I train in a different place than where he's at." I explained before standing as well. "Are you ready Ranma?" I asked.

He nodded and then charged at me. I paused and sniffed the air suddenly and glanced at the sky. "Wait!" I cried as I caught his hand.

"What?" He asked, trying to pull out of my grip.

"It's about to rain." I whispered. "What about Ryoga's secret?"

Ranma blinked and stared at me. "How do you know?"

I shook my head. "I'll explain later. Right now I'm leaving with him. I'll find you guys later." He watched me as I went up to Ryoga. "Hey, will you come with me somewhere for a bit?" I asked.

"Why?" Ryoga asked, his face turning red.

"Just come on." I said impatiently. I grabbed his hand and pulled him with me and out of Akane's site.

"Where are they going?" Akane asked.

"Training." Ranma responded simply.

"I thought she was fighting you now." Akane said.

"Well, the plan changed. They'll meet up with us later." Ranma said. "Let's go." He started walking in the opposite way as Ryoga and me and with one glance after us, Akane quickly followed.

"What are you doing?" Ryoga cried as I dragged him through the woods.

Once I was sure that we were far enough away I turned to face him. "It's going to rain." I said. "You didn't want Akane to see you change did you?"

Ryoga stared at me. "How… do you know?"

I sighed. "Well you heard that I'm from another world right?" He nodded so I continued. "Where I'm from they have a book called Ranma ½ that's all about you guys. I knew you all before you introduced yourselves. The book tells of your secrets so of course I know them too."

"But wouldn't you have known who Happosai was then?" Ryoga asked.

"Yeah, but I was pretending like I didn't know you guys because it's kind of weird to know about people you've never met." I started walking and Ryoga followed.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

I shrugged. "How many chances do you get to explore a world from a book?" Ryoga and me continued moving until we reached the end of the forest and found a fountain. I stood by its edge and stared into the water at my reflection. I sighed as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"What's wrong?" Ryoga asked.

I smiled softly. "Just a couple months ago I had no idea I was a demon."

"What?"

"I was just a normal human girl but one night two guys came into my room. They told me that about every fifteen years I died from some rare disease and then was reborn into another family afterwards. They injected me with the cure and as soon as I made it back home from the hospital they brought me into the woods and I found my true brother. When I remembered him and he believed I was his sister I changed back halfway. We went and found my other brother and once he accepted me I changed the rest of the way. Then I went with my teammates and they gave me all the energy I had gathered over the five hundred years of dying and being reborn I had gone through without even knowing it. That's what made my hair green. It was so much that I couldn't quite contain it and it shows in my hair. I've been training since then but during the last visit to my brother is when I was kidnapped and sent away. This is the… seventh world I've been sent to. I think. Yeah, seventh." I finished and looked up at him.

Ryoga was staring at me open mouthed. "Wow." Was all he could manage. "Is that really true?"

"I don't think it looks like I'm lying, does it?" I asked and he shook his head.

"You're face is serious and straight." He smiled. "I believe you."

"Yay." I said with a grin. I looked into the water and then back up at him. "Want to fight until it rains?" I asked.

He nodded. "Sure." We took up stances and faced each other. We charged at each other but dodged each other's attacks and came together again.

My ear twitched and I turned to look behind me just as Ryoga's fist came into my stomach. With a grunt I fell backwards right into a guy. With a startled cry he too toppled over and we both landed in the well with a splash. "I'm so sorry!" I cried, sweeping my hair from my face. I stared at the boy, blushing because I was on top of him and as he stared back he began to change. I yelled out in surprise and Ryoga ran towards us, stopping to stare. The boy had changed into a giant demon and I was lying flat on his stomach! The well had crushed beneath him. He glared at me and snorted, causing my hair to fly back. "I said I was sorry!" I said weakly.

Ryoga leapt at the beast with a cry but at that moment it started to rain. "Damn it!" He shouted as the cold water hit him. He changed into a little black pig and I caught him in my arms before looking fearfully at the demon.

"You wouldn't hurt a fellow demon would you?" I asked hopefully. I squealed as the thing grabbed me in its hand and stood up. I released Ryoga and he landed with a plop in the fountain's remains. "Get help!" I yelled at him and he darted away. The demon lifted into the air and I screamed as I hit at him. "Stop it!" I yelled. "Let me go!"

It smirked at me and continued going. I dug my fangs into its finger and it growled and hit me in the head. With a groan I blacked out in its hand.

When I next awoke it was nighttime and I was in a little wooden house. A boy stood in the doorway staring at me. He had dark hair and seemed to have fangs. "What's your problem?" I yelled, noticing I was tied up. I stared blankly at what held me. _Pantyhose?_ I thought before glancing back at the boy. "Your Pantyhose Taro!" I yelled suddenly and he fell over in surprise.

"Don't call me that!" He shouted.

"Sorry, I'll just call you Taro, ok?" I asked as I slowly moved my hands around behind my back.

Taro approached me slowly and crouched in front of me. "What are you?"

I glared at him. "I told you earlier, a demon."

He glared back. "A real one? You didn't change when I poured hot water on you."

"You did what?" I screamed. "Of course I'm a real demon! What other kind of demon would I be?"

"Well, I thought you might be like me."

"No, I didn't have to fall into a spring first. I was born like this." I muttered.

"How?"

I stared at him. "How?" I repeated. "God, you're stupid. Just let me go."

He hit me in the head. "Don't call me stupid!"

"It's better than Pantyhose Taro!" I screamed, eyes flashing red.

Taro turned away grumpily with a light red in his cheeks. I sighed and patted him on the back. "Sorry, it's ok. Will you let me take my picture with you?"

He stared at me in surprise. "How did you?"

I grinned and held up a hand. "Claws. I am a real demon remember? You can't keep me tied up. So how about that picture?"

"Why do you need a picture?"

"I'm keeping track of everyone I meet." I explained. "Please?"

He looked at me and sighed. "Ok." I grinned happily and set the camera on the floating green energy shelf before aiming it at him and sitting by his side. It flashed and I gathered it back up and into the camera bag.

I stood and headed towards the door. "So I'll just be going now…"

He stepped in front of me. "Why?"

"Why?" I repeated. "Because you kidnapped me! I'm rescuing myself."

"You can't rescue yourself!"

"Why not?"

Taro stopped for a moment to think. "It's not normal. A friend has to come save you. The guy always saves the girl!"

I glared at him. "Why is everyone so sexist? Girls can be tough too!"

He rubbed his bandagedhand and glared back. "Yeah, you bit me earlier."

"Well you were kidnapping me! You hit me in the head twice anyway!" I yelled.

"Whatever." He replied coldly.

I leapt forward and punched him in the side of the head, causing him to fall over. "What was that for?" He screamed.

"You did it to me! Now we're even." I replied as I went to the door. _The rain has stopped, does that mean they're coming?_ I thought. I cried out as something wrapped around my foot, causing me to fall. "What are you doing?" I yelled, turning to see Taro holding some pantyhose with the end wrapped around my leg.

"I didn't say you could leave!"

"Well, I said I could and that's good enough for me!" I screamed as I cut through the cloth with my claws. I got to my feet. "Goodbye!" I called as I leapt through the door. Taro growled and sent another thing at me but I cut through it before it hit. "Leave me alone!" I yelled as I ran for it. I jumped over a hill and ran straight into Ranma. He fell backwards and we both tumbled down the hillside, landing in a heap at the bottom.

I quickly jumped away from him. "I'm sorry!" I cried with a bright red face.

He got up and dusted himself off as Ryoga came to join us. "Where's the demon?" He asked. "What happened?"

"That guys a freak. He fights with pantyhose and he wouldn't let me leave!" I growled. With a snarl I caught the end of some pantyhose that had come towards my head and pulled it, causing Taro to tumble down the hill after us. As he started to get up I placed my claws on his back so he stayed down. "Will you just go away?" I growled. "Or will I have to hurt you?"

"Neither." Taro said grumpily.

Ranma walked over and crouched beside us. "Hey look, it's Pantyhose Taro! I thought so." I pressed my claws harder as Taro tried to hit him. "Why are you all wet?" Ranma asked.

I blushed noticing that I was wearing a white shirt, which becomes see through when wet. "This freak dumped hot water on me! He expected me to change like you guys…"

Ranma jumped. "You never explained… How do you know?"

I shrugged. "Well, where I came from there is a series of books called Ranma ½ and I've read all about you guys from those!"

"Then why did you pretend like you didn't know us?" Ranma asked.

"Well it would be pretty awkward if I knew so much about you guys and you knew nothing about me. But yeah, the cat's out of the bag now I guess." I added with a laugh. "Where's Akane?" I added after looking around.

"We got her to stay behind." Ranma replied.

"Oh…" I said as I stared down at Taro. "What do we do with him? He won't leave me alone."

"Let's tie him up and toss him in the river." Ranma suggested.

I stared at him in shock. "Well that's mean!" I exclaimed as Taro breathed a sigh of relief. "Plus he'll just transform if we do that."

Ranma shrugged. "Then what?"

I stood up and offered Taro a hand. He took it hesitantly and I helped him to his feet. "How about if he tries anything I get to beat him up!" I cried happily.

Ryoga laughed quietly as Taro glared at me uneasily and Ranma laughed. "Well you're confident."

"Well I beat you didn't I?" I responded.

Taro burst out laughing. "You let a girl beat you?" He yelled.

I turned to him angrily. "You did like ten times worse Taro!" I screamed and he fell silent under my red eyes. "Ok, let's go back now." I decided as I turned away.

Ranma shrugged and went in the lead with Ryoga and me following him. I listened as Taro hesitated, unsure of whether to risk following or not. We went down the side of a hill so he was out of sight and that's when I heard it. "Duck!" I screamed as I pushed Ranma and Ryoga to the ground with myself.

"What are you-" Ranma stopped as he saw Taro in his demon form flying overhead. "I told you we should have tied him up!"

"I should've listened." I growled as I scrambled to my feet. "He's attacking me so just stay back." I turned to face Taro, flashing the camera in his face to temporarily blind him.

"This is to time for pictures!" Ranma yelled.

"Shut up and let me handle it!" I screamed back.

Before the two guys could protest, Taro swooped at me again and I allowed him to pick me up. "I warned you." I muttered with a grin. He stared at me for a second as I placed my hand on his finger. A spark shot out and he watched it as it hit him and did nothing. Suddenly a bolt of neon green light shot out as well and struck him on the arm, traveling throughout his body. With a shriek he let me go and I made the body shield to float slowly to the ground. Taro fell from the sky and landed hard, making a crater in the ground.

I landed beside it and stared down at him as Ranma and Ryoga followed me. "Did you kill him?" Ranma asked.

"No!" I cried. "Well… I don't think so." My ear twitched as I listened for a second. "Nope, I heard a heartbeat. Could you change him back or something?"

"Sure." Ranma said, seeming to pull a bucket of hot water from nowhere. He splashed it over Taro and he changed back.

With a shriek I clamped my hands over my eyes and turned away. "Ranma!"

"Sorry…" He muttered as he found some clothes to drape over Taro's body. His had been torn off when he transformed.

I looked up and sniffed the air. "He should be put inside too…"

"What for?"

"It's going to rain." I replied. "We don't want him to transform and wake up again!"

With a shrug, Ranma reluctantly carried Taro back to the shed and returned to us just as the first drop fell. Ranma's face fell as he turned into a girl and Ryoga's cry turned into a squeal as he changed into the little black pig, P-chan.

"Can I take your pictures!" I yelled with a laugh. Eventually I got both of them to agree. Female Ranma stood beside me and I held Ryoga, now P-chan in my arms as the camera flashed again. "Alright, let's go." I said happily as I put the camera away and picked Ryoga's clothes up off the ground. We all followed Ranma until we reached the house.

"P-chan!" Akane cried first thing as we approached. Ryoga leapt happily into her arms and I held back a giggle as I hid his clothes behind my back. "I'm glad you're ok." Akane said, turning to me now.

I nodded. "Yeah, he wasn't a very good kidnapper." I said with a laugh.

"Who was it?" Akane asked.

"Taro." I replied.

When Akane looked blankly at me Ranma stepped in. "Pantyhose Taro." He said and Akane remembered him by that name. She jumped as I suddenly crouched and placed my hands tightly on my head. "Are you ok?"

"Quiet, it's Akumei…" I whispered and everyone stared at me.

_Kira?_ Akumei thought to me.

_Yeah, I'm here._ I thought back.

_Are you ready?_

_Yep._

_Ok. _Akumei's voice began to fade but suddenly a new one rang clear.

_Wait!_

_Hiei?_ I thought in surprise.

It was definitely Hiei's voice that answered. _Yeah. What do you think you're doing, getting sent away by this idiot?_ He yelled at me.

I felt a tear fall down my face, mingling with the still falling rain already there. _I didn't mean too…_ I whimpered my thoughts.

_But you did!_ Hiei yelled back. _What has happened now? …Why are you crying?_ He added, as if just realizing it.

_Because! You're the first voice from homebesides Akumei's that I've heard for like over a week and all you do is yell at me? _I responded.

_Sorry. _Hiei muttered quietly before his voice totally disappeared.

_Akumei!_ I thought.

_Yes?_ He replied.

_How was Hiei talking too?_

_If you touch me directly then your thoughts will be transferred too._

_Really? Get Inuyasha!_

I heard Akumei talking to Inuyasha before my brothers' voice sounded uncertainly through my head. _Inuyasha!_ I cried happily.

_Kira? What's happening? Are you ok? Will you be coming back soon?_ Inuyasha immediately exploded with questions.

_That's enough Inuyasha. Right now I'm sitting on the ground talking to you. I'm perfectly fine and I have no idea when I'll make it back. I hope it's soon though. It will go faster if you let Akumei send me now. I just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you big brother! _I added, teasing him but I couldn't keep back the tears.

_See you soon little sister._ Inuyasha replied before he too left my thoughts.

Akumei quickly took over again. _Ok, before anyone comes are you ready?_

_Yes._

_Ok, here we go. Prepare. _I looked up at Akane, Ranma and P-chan as I got to my feet. "That was Akumei, my brother and a friend." I started as I wiped away some tears but the rain still poured on my face. "They're about to send me somewhere new again so back away so you don't get dragged with me." They obeyed and I continued. "I might not ever see you again but I'll miss you all. Ryoga knows about my past now so if you want to know you can just ask him. Say goodbye to Ryoga for me and thanks for the pictures!" I said with a laugh and a glance towards P-chan. I stared at my hand as it began to flicker and smiled up at them. "Bye!"

"Bye…" Akane whispered with wide eyes as P-chan squealed in her arms. Ranma dumped a bucket of hot water over his head so he turned back into a guy. "Cya." He said with a grin. "So the last thing you saw of me was me being a guy, not a girl." He explained at the strange look I gave him.

I laughed. "Oh, ok. Well… bye!" With that I was gone and they were left staring at a patch of flattened grass where I had just been standing.

* * *

Akumei sighed as he leaned back against the tree but Inuyasha immediately leapt on him. "Why didn't you tell me I could talk to her?" He yelled as he shook Akumei violently. 

Yusuke managed to pull him off so Akumei could explain. "You never asked." He replied simply.

Yusuke had to double his efforts to keep Inuyasha back. "Then how did he know?" Inuyasha said, pointing an accusing finger at Hiei.

"I can read minds too." Hiei responded coldly. "I know how it works."

Inuyasha fell back grumpily and refused to talk for the rest of the night.


	16. Dragonball Z

* * *

I fell towards the ground, water droplets from my body drifting in the air around me and looked around. I sighed at the sight of just pure green fields surrounding me and created the green body shield around myself. Slowly I drifted down and landed softly, feeling the soft grass under my feet. Without warning I fell backwards and just laid on the grass, staring up at the blue sky. _I want to stay like this forever…_ I thought as I closed my eyes. 

Suddenly a fierce roar echoed around me and I leapt to my feet. Whirling around I let my mouth fall open as I stared upwards. A giant Tyrannosaurus Rex like dinosaur was staring down at me. Soon another, smaller one joined it. "Crap!" I shouted as I looked back at them.

The bigger one leaned down closer to me and roared again, causing my hair to fly straight back. I screamed and made a dome shaped shield just as it lunged at me. Its teeth hit the solid green light and it cried out in rage and disappointment. I collapsed on the ground surrounded by the shield and wrapped my arms around myself. I stared up at them as I shivered and started crying.

The smaller dinosaur cocked its head and stared at me before roaring again and swinging its tail at the shield. I screamed again, much louder this time and backed to the end of the circular shield that was farthest away from them.

"Hi." A voice sounded behind me and I jumped, screaming again and whirled around. "Can I come in?" It was a boy with spiked up black hair and glasses. He grinned at me as I nodded dumbly and made an opening for him. He sat down in front of me and smiled. "So, what are you doing here? And you're all wet…" He added quietly.

"Uh…" I said stupidly, wiping away tears. "It was raining."

The boy laughed. "Ok…" He looked at the sky. "I don't see any rain here. Are you scared of them?" He asked, pointing to the dinosaurs. I nodded and he turned to them. "Hey guys, it's me. Stop fighting please!" He called simply. The dinosaurs exchanged glances and slowly walked away.

"I don't understand…" I said as I stared blankly after them.

The boy chuckled and offered me a hand, pulling me to my feet. "Do you want to come by my place and change clothes? By the way, I'm Gohan."

My eyes widened. _Ha! I'm in DBZ this time!_ I thought as I stared at him. "Um… sure. But you're not scared?" I finished by tugging on one of my ears.

He shrugged. "No way! But I won't force you to tell me anything you don't want too."

"Oh, ok." I replied, looking around. "Where do you live?"

"I was out for a walk so it's quite a ways. Need a lift?" He asked as he floated into the air. I smiled and shook my head. The green light lined my body and I lifted off too. Gohan stared at me for a second and then laughed. "Ok, lets go!" He cried as he shot away.

"Wait!" I called as I sped after him. After a bit of zigzagging I got control and followed straight behind him.

An hour or so later we came upon a house out in the middle of nowhere with a much larger one beside it. "Is that it?" I asked with widened eyes.

"Yep." Gohan nodded as I set down beside it. I followed suit and trailed behind him as he entered the larger house. "Hey mom, I'm home!" He called and a woman with black hair came quickly forward.

"Hello dear. How was-" She stopped at the sight of me. "Gohan! You're married! What do you think you're doing?" She screamed.

"I'm sorry!" I cried. "It's nothing like that! He found me being attacked by those dinosaurs and helped out!"

"Then why are you here now?" She demanded.

"I'm all wet and he offered to find me new clothes." I replied.

After eyeing me for a moment, the woman finally agreed. "Ok, well I'm Chichi. Welcome to our home!" She said happily. "And you are?"

"Kira." I said. "Thanks for allowing me to be here." I jumped as a door slammed behind me and whirled around in time to see two men, two boys and one girl entering. At the same time a blue haired woman, a black haired woman and a blue haired girl came from another room. Everyone grew quiet at the sight of me and an awkward silence took place. I looked around at everyone, feeling my face turning red. The two men who had entered both had spiked up black hair. One's was short and straight up and one was longer and jutted out at random angles. One of the boys had spiked up black hair as well but the other had a whitish purple bowl cut type thing. The little girl just had short black hair.

"Why's it so quiet now?" Asked a short man also with black hair as he entered the room with a blonde woman and a blonde haired girl. He stopped short when his eyes fell on me and they too joined in the staring.

"I'll just leave now…" I said quietly as I made for the door but Gohan caught my shoulder.

"It's ok." He assured me before turning to the large crowd that had gathered. "Everyone, this is Kira. Kira she's Bulma and that's her child." He said pointing to the blue haired woman and girl. "There's her husband Vegeta with their son Trunks." He added indicating the short spiked up hair guy with the white purple haired boy. "There's my dad Goku and little brother Gotan." He nodded towards the randomly spiked hair guy with the black haired boy. "That's my daughter Pan with them." He said pointing to the little girl. "There's Crilian with his wife Eighteen and their daughter." He pointed to the three who had just come in. "And this is my wife, Videl." He finished as he crossed over to the remaining black haired girl.

"Um… Hi everyone." I said nervously. I jumped as I noticed someone pulling at my tail. It was the little girl, Pan.

"What's this?" she asked.

"My tail." I responded.

"What are you?" Vegeta asked. "And what do you want?" He added, eyeing my sword.

"I'm an almost full wolf demon and I was brought here to simply get dry clothes." I replied. "I didn't mean to start so much trouble."

"Almost full?" Trunks asked warily.

"A demon?" Vegeta cried at the exact same time.

I nodded. "Yeah, my mother was a half demon so I have just a bit of human in me as well. Don't worry thought I don't want to start anything. I'll leave if you want." I said as I started towards the door.

"It's no trouble!" Goku said as he blocked the door with a grin. "How'd you get all wet?"

"It was raining heavily…" I explained.

"What are you talking about? It's perfectly clear outside." Vegeta said hotly.

"Where I just came from it was raining!" I replied.

"And where was that?" Gohan asked. "People don't usually wonder around where I found you."

I laughed nervously. "You guys won't believe me."

"Oh, I wouldn't count on that." Bulma laughed. "Go ahead."

I sighed and began. "I was kidnapped and sent to another world but the one who sent me away, Akumei, was immediately surrounded by my family and friends. Now they're making him bring me back. I've been switching between worlds since then because he has no control over where I end up. The last one I was at it was raining and I was outside."

"Like we're going to believe that." Vegeta remarked. "Lets hear the truth this time."

"But that was it!" I whimpered.

I looked down as Goku stared intently into my eyes. Finally he looked up and grinned. "Yeah, she's telling the truth."

"How can you know by just looking?" Vegeta yelled at him.

"I can see it in her eyes." Goku answered.

Videl came to my side and smiled down at me. "Come with me and we'll find you some dry clothes." She said as she ushered me forward and down the hall. We turned into a room and she started digging in a closet. "What type of stuff do you like to wear?" She asked.

"A t-shirt and training shorts." I replied.

She turned and laughed lightly. "But you're so pretty. It would seem like you'd want to wear something better."

I shook my head. "No thanks, I'm supposed to be training."

"Well, ok…" Videl said as she came over to me. She handed me some black gym shorts and a gray t-shirt like I had asked. She showed me to a room and I quickly changed before we rejoined the others. They had all settled down into random chairs and couches and all looked up when we reentered.

"You look like you're ready to train." Goku commented.

I nodded with a soft smile. "I am."

"Really?" Gotan asked. "For what?"

"A tournament." I said simply.

"You're entering the world's martial arts tournament?" Goku cried out.

I laughed and shook my head. "No, this is one from back home. It's much rougher." I sighed.

"Then why would a girl enter?" Vegeta asked.

"Hey!" I yelled. "Girls can fight too! I was chosen to be the fifth member of my team."

"What kind of people will you be fighting?" Gohan asked.

"Demons. I don't know what kinds but they're all aiming for one thing: my and my teammates deaths." I said sadly.

"What for?" Trunks cried.

"Because my friends won the last tournament like this that they were in and cost a lot of people a lot of money. They just want revenge now and since they've seen all of them but never even heard of me it'll be an advantage to have me with them." I explained.

"So, can you fight?" Goku asked, getting up.

"Well, yeah. Otherwise they wouldn't have picked me." I responded.

"Lets go outside. I'll train you some." Goku offered as he headed towards the door.

"Uh ok…" I said as I followed after him.

"Don't hurt her!" Chichi yelled after us.

"I can look after myself, don't worry." I reassured her with smile as we both went outside. Slowly everyone else trailed out after us.

Goku stood in front of me with a grin. "So, what can you do?"

I shrugged. "Just… fight. I don't know!"

"Can you fly?" Goku asked.

"Well, I can make myself but not the way that you guys do."

"Let me see."

I blinked and the green light sprang up, tracing along my body and I lifted myself into the air. "Is that her energy?" Crilian cried.

"Ok." Goku said, staring at me. "Can you shoot ki blasts?"

I landed again and held out my hands, firing a little neon green blast forward. "That was just a little one." I explained.

"Very good!" Goku exclaimed. "It's rare that we find strangers already able to do this! Who taught you?"

I shrugged. "It's a combination of myself messing around and training from my teammates."

"So these teammates of yours can do this too?" Gohan asked.

I nodded. "Kind of. One of them can shoot the blasts. The others use their energy in different ways."

"Like what?" Trunks questioned.

"Like… one has power over plants. He can make then grow wherever he wishes. Sometimes he makes these massive man eating ones! It's really cool. Another shapes his into a sword."

"Shapes it?" Gotan repeated.

"Yep! Like this." I held out my hand and a neon green sword appeared immediately within my grip.

They stared at me for a moment. "How did you do that?" Goku asked me.

"I just pictured it happening in my mind and it did!" I said proudly.

"Why would you bother making a sword if you already have one? Why do you even bother carrying one around with you?" Vegeta asked.

"Well…" I started as I drew my sword and let the energy fade away. Everyone backed up as the sword's size grew and I held it out in my hand. "This one's from my father. It's the only thing I have left of him. I'd never leave it behind. Plus, it has powers."

"Like what?" Trunks asked, staring at it.

"Um… It can kill one hundred demons with one sweep and send strong demonic attacks back at the owner. It can even bring people back from the dead only I haven't figured out how to make it do these things yet. I haven't used it in real battle enough." I finished and looked around to see everyone staring at me. I blushed and looked down at my feet.

"Can I hold it?" Gohan asked.

"No." I replied.

"No?" Gohan stared at me.

"Sorry." I explained. "It's just that it's so powerful that to make sure it didn't fall into the wrong hands my father made it so it shocks anyone other than me if they try to grip the handle."

"Well that's smart. We should do that for things more often!" Goku suggested. "Anyway, let's move on. How are you at hand to hand?"

I shrugged. "Pretty good but that's just with others that I've practiced against. I don't know how well I'd do with you guys!"

Goku laughed. "Ok then this should be fun. No powers, no weapons. Just hand to hand." He explained as he took a fighting stance. "Ready?" He asked.

I nodded and took up a stance as well. The others watched in silence as the tension between us grew. Neither of us moved until Chichi suddenly cried out, "Come on already! Some one make a move!"

Goku nodded and darted towards me as I was recovering from the shock of her sudden scream, landing a blow in my stomach. His fist found its mark and I staggered back a few steps, clutching it. I gagged and then looked up. "I wasn't ready." I muttered.

Vegeta stared at me. "How are you still standing?"

"While working on a certain technique I got hit in the stomach so many times…" I replied. "Now I'm pretty used to it."

Goku laughed and stood up. "Ok, this time be ready."

I nodded and we both took up stances once more. Goku charged forward again and I threw my arms over my face, blocking his attack. While he stood in shock that I had moved so quickly I kicked out and knocked his feet from under him. He jumped up again and regarded me in surprise. "That was pretty good." He admitted.

"Thank you!" I said with a grin. I turned as Vegeta laughed shortly.

"Let me have a go." He said, stepping to face me. "And don't hold back. I won't." He warned.

"Hey Vegeta, she's just a kid and she's still in training. Do you think you could hold back at least a little?"

"Quiet Kakorot. I didn't go easy on Trunks." Vegeta smirked.

"But-"

I cut Goku off quickly. "It's ok. I need some real practice. Everyone I've trained with recently held back because I'm a girl and they were scared to hurt me. Plus I haven't used my energy in a real battle for a while."

"See? Now go away." Vegeta said superiorly. "We can fly, and use our energy. You can use your sword if you want."

I shook my head as I tossed the blade aside along with my camera bag. "That wouldn't be fair. I have claws I can use instead." I added, brandishing them.

Vegeta nodded and charged me without warning. With a startled cry I knocked his fist away and caught his next one. With a growl he sprang back away but instead of landing he stayed hovering in the air. I stared up at him from the ground. "What are you waiting for?" He asked. "You can fly can't you?"

"I've never fought in the air before…" I muttered.

"Well now's your chance to learn." Vegeta shouted as he swooped down at me. I waved my hand in front of my face, leaving a neon green shield in its wake. Vegeta hit it and quickly hid his surprised face as he backed away again.

The green light surrounded my body and I lifted slowly into the air after him, stopping in front of him. We stared each other down for a second before Vegeta charged me again. I waited to block his attacks but at the last second he shot an energy blast off. I covered my face as it hit me and flew backwards without the ground to slow myself. When I finally stopped and looked up Vegeta was on me again and sent a strong blow to my cheek. I spun around from the force of it but came back around with my claws ready. I felt them pierce his arm and he cried out before retreating back a bit.

He looked at the deep scratches in his arm and I took this time to hold my head. It stung and everything was spinning from the force of the blow. I was amazed that I was still in the air! I wiped my lip to find it was bleeding and glared up at him. He was glaring back at me, holding his arm. Without a word he held up his hand and aimed it straight at me. A gigantic blue blast shot out heading straight towards me.

"Vegeta, stop!" Goku yelled as he began to spring towards me.

"No, you stop!" I screamed back so fiercely that he froze where he was. "I can do this!" I held out my hand quickly and sent a neon green blast towards Vegeta's. Mine hit his, causing it to stop dead as the two beams slammed into each other. With a cry Vegeta increased the power of his and I did the same, keeping them equal.

Vegeta glared at me and I heard him mutter to himself. "I won't let this girl beat me!" I watched with wide eyes as he yelled and his hair turned golden yellow and his eyes blue. His beam greatly intensified and it came at me with the sudden surge of power.

I steadied my hand with my free one and felt myself moving backwards through the air. I closed my eyes and my beam increased as well but not enough to stop his. It steadily inched its way towards me, his blue consuming my green. I closed my eyes again and focused as hard as I could on that one beam of energy coming from my hand.

My eyes sprang open and I heard several people gasp as my beam finally grew enough to stop Vegeta's. My eyes were glowing entirely neon green from the great amount of energy I was emitting. I pushed harder and my beam started inching closer to Vegeta. With another cry of rage he powered up once more and his beam moved towards me again. With a snarl I sent another surge into mine as well.

"Ok guys, it's a tie. Let's stop things now!" Goku urged.

"No!" Vegeta and I both screamed at the same time and Goku backed away slightly. Vegeta pushed once more and his sped suddenly towards me. I gasped and placed my free hand beside the other. Everyone stared in shock as a beam of green light appeared from my empty hand as well, matching the first and causing my blast to double. It darted down the line straight at Vegeta and before he had time to react it had struck him head on.

With a cry he fell to the ground and I drifted slowly down after him. Before he collided with the ground, Goku came to catch him as I touched down. I immediately my green body shield faded and I fell to my knees, panting hard as everyone stared from Vegeta to me. With a groan I fell forward, lying flat on my stomach in the dirt and I heard people slowly approach me.

"Is she out?" Someone asked.

"No." I replied weakly. "Just tired. I've never done that before."

"Well that was great for a first try!" Gohan said as he helped me sit up.

I smiled at him before looking for Vegeta. Goku was supporting him and Trunks and Bulma were sitting on either side but he was obviously still out cold. Slowly I managed to half crawl, half drag myself to him. "Can I?" I asked quietly and they parted to let me get to him. Gently I set my hands on his cut arm, ignoring the people as they all gathered around me. I closed my eyes and felt my hands grow warm as the green light enveloped them. Sparks danced along Vegeta's body and the deep scratches slowly sealed up. With a start he sat bolt upright in time to see me fall flat on top of his legs.

"What happened?" He asked, rubbing his head and staring at me, as I lay unconscious upon him.

"She blasted you!" Goku laughed. "And then I think she healed you."

"Why is she out now?" Vegeta pressed.

"She was exhausted from the energy fight but still used the remaining bit of her energy to heal you." Trunks explained.

"Why?" Vegeta asked as he inspected his arm. He ran his fingers along where the scratches had just been and stared at me again.

"She's a very sweet girl." Videl said with a smile. "Even if she is a demon."

"Let's take her inside." Goku suggested as he scooped me off of Vegeta's lap. Everyone trailed after him and inside the house except for Trunks. He had stopped when he saw my things sitting on the ground and was staring at them.

Slowly he picked up my camera but just watched the sword warily, remembering what I had said about it shocking people. "She did say just the handle…" He muttered as he reached hesitantly towards it. He grabbed the sheathe about halfway down the blade and slowly wrapped his fingers around it, lifting it up. With a sigh of relief he walked quickly into the house.

He came in time to see Goku setting me on the couch as Chichi held a wet rag to my forehead occasionally shooting Vegeta accusing glares. In a few minutes my eyes fluttered open and I stared up at everyone. "How long was I out?" I asked first thing.

"Only a couple minutes." Gohan replied.

"Really?" I asked, forcing myself to sit up but falling back as a wave of dizziness hit me. "Usually I'm out for at least a few hours… I must be getting better!" I decided quietly.

"I guess so." Goku laughed.

I forced myself to sit up again and steadied myself, as I looked around at all the faces peering down at me. "Can I take a group photo? With me in it as well?"

"What for?" Vegeta muttered.

"I am taking pictures from every place I go of everyone I meet." I replied. Eventually I got everyone in the room to gather in a large group outside and I stood in front of them, adjusting the camera on my floating shelf of energy. I set the timer and jumped in the middle of them, in between Vegeta and Goku. "Ten seconds the light will go off and it will take." I warned. I started to wobble for a second and both Vegeta and Goku stuck out a hand to steady me. I smiled softly as the flash went off and everyone quickly gathered as I made the camera come to my hand. I was ushered back inside and made to sit on the couch again as another wet rag was applied to my head.

Suddenly I fell back and clamped my hands to my head. "Quiet everyone!" I whispered and everyone stared at me. _Kira?_ Akumei's voice rang harshly through my head.

_Keep it down…_ I groaned. _My head hurts._

_What happened? _He cried alarmed.

_I just used a lot of energy, that's all. Tell Hiei and the guys I was training so they can't yell at me when I get back._

I heard Akumei chuckle softly. _Ok, I will. So are you ready to leave?_

_I just have to strap on my bag and sword._

_Ok then do that quickly and I'll send you._

_Ok._ I thought and heard him no more. I sat up again slowly and faced all the people. "I need my things." I whispered and Trunks immediately handed them to me. "Thanks." I said as I strapped them on.

"What was that all about?" Goku asked.

I winced. "Please don't talk that loud. My head hurts and my ears are very sensitive." I requested.

"Oh, sorry." Goku replied softly. "What was that all about?"

"It was Akumei, the one who is trying to bring me home. It's time for me to be transported again." I explained.

"Do you have to go somewhere?" Trunks asked.

"No, if I move too far he'll loose me and have to find me again. He is in another world if you'll remember. Soon I'll…" I trailed off as my hand glowed and flickered. "Start to disappear." I finished as they backed away.

"Thanks for the clothes." I turned to Goku and Vegeta. "And the training. Now they can't yell at me for being slack." I smiled as I flickered even more. "Bye…"

"Bye!" They all called softly in union as I disappeared from sight.

* * *

Inuyasha leapt beside Akumei and peered at him. "What'd she say?" 

"Ah!" Akumei fell back in surprise. "Don't do that!" Inuyasha's glare had him talking again. "She said her head hurt but otherwise she sounded fine."

"Why would her head hurt?" Inuyasha wondered.

"Maybe she fell." Kagome suggested.

"She doesn't fall!" Inuyasha growled. He turned to glare at the snickering Kurama. "What are you laughing at!"

"Oh nothing…" Kurama replied, dismissing it with a wave of his hand.

"Humph." Inuyasha said, sitting back against a tree and glaring at Akumei. "You better get her back here soon."

"Don't worry, I'm getting a lot better at it!" Akumei assured him.

"For your sake you better be…" Inuyasha muttered. "And I get to talk to her again next time!"

Akumei turned to the YYH guys. "She also said to tell you her head is hurting from overuse of her energy meaning she is still training."

"Or so she claims…" Hiei muttered quietly.


	17. Rurouni Kenshin

* * *

As I fell I heard the found sounds of children's laughter below me and twisted my body around in the sky to see. There was a fairly large group of people below me, eight people it looked like and I was heading right towards them. 

I closed my eyes, trying to focus enoughto bring out the shieldthat Iused to slow myself but my head was pounding so much I couldn't concentrate. Instead I fell helplessly from the sky. I closed my eyes, feeling too weak to shout out a warning, and braced for impact.

Suddenly I felt arms closing around me and snapped my eyes open, finding my face buried in someone's robes. I blinked several times, trying to think straight over the aching of my head and slowly figured out we were still falling. The person held me tight so I couldn't struggle and I felt us hit the ground as lightly as if he had been floating.

He knelt down and released me gently, supporting me against him as I almost collapsed. "Miss Megumi, I think you should take a look at her." He said kindly. I could see his red hair pulled back into a ponytail and the cross shaped scar on his cheek.

A woman came forward from the group that had gathered together to stare at me and sat beside me as well. Tentatively she felt my forehead and nodded. "She has a fever. Bring her inside, sir Ken."

The man obeyed instantly, lifting me back up and carrying me inside after Megumi. The others all exchanged glances and then followed after.

They arrived to see me being laid out on a mat with a cold cloth placed on my forehead and Megumi looked me over. "So strange…" She murmured.

"What do you mean?" A girl with violet hair pulled back in a ponytail asked. "Is she very ill?"

Megumi shook her head. "She's just exhausted, but look at these." She said, pulling lightly at one of my ears.

The tallest man with spiky brown hair took several quick steps backwards at the sight. "A demon!" He cried fearfully, his back to the wall.

The red haired man laughed. "Well Sano, if she is a demon she's certainly prettier than I'd have imagined, that she is."

"What's that supposed to mean Kenshin?" The purple haired girl shouted, obviously growing jealous that Kenshin would say such of me.

"I'm sorry Miss Kaoru!" He stammered, holding his hands up defensively in front of himself. "It's just when I picture a demon, I imaginehorriblemonsters!"

Kaoru sighed, calming herself,and nodded. "I guess you're right." Kenshin relaxed.

"Yahiko, what do you think you're doing?" Kaoru shouted out again.

The boy with spiked black hair paused, caught in the act of pulling on my tail. "I was just seeing if it was real…" He muttered, poking it curiously.

"But that's rude." Kaoru commented. "Hey girls, not you too? See what example you're setting Yahiko!" She scolded.

Two young girls crowded on either side of Yahiko to assist in messing with my tail. All three leapt back in fear as I stirred, wincing as I forced myself to sit up.

I groaned, holding my head and looked around. Once my blurry vision cleared up I was able to see that I was in a wooden house surrounded by people. They all stared warily at me, backed almost to the wall. "I-I'm sorry." I whimpered with the pain in my head still very alive. "I'll l-leave now."

"No you won't." Megumi said, stepping forward and making me lay back down, her doctor's instinct overpowering her fear. "Not in this condition."

"But…" I started but was cut off.

"Miss Megumi's right you know." Kenshin nodded. "You should get some rest. You'll be safe here."

I smiled softly and allowed myself to relax and my eyes to close. In seconds I was out again.

Sano stepped hesitantly forward. "What? You're letting her stay here? We don't even know what she is!" His superstitious nature was acting up.

"We can't send her out like this. Look at her, she's still young." Kaoru sighed. "I wonder why she's all alone?"

"Because she's a demon!" Sano shouted.

"Oh be quiet, she's trying to rest." Kaoru shot back.

"Yeah, so she can kill us all when she gets up!" Sano retorted.

"You want to kill her now then?" Kaoru yelled.

Sano nodded, slamming a fist into his palm. He took a step towards me and looked down at my sleeping form. He let his hands unclench and turned silently to exit the room. Kenshin laughed. "See? Sano can't hurt a defenseless girl, even if she may be a demon."

A few hours later I finally opened my eyes once more and lifted a hand feebly to my head. It wasn't hurting nearly as bad anymore and I was easily able to force myself to a sitting position. I remained still, staring silently around the room until someone distracted me.

"Oh, you're awake!" Kaoru cried out happily as she came to sit on her knees by my side. I nodded dumbly and she smiled. "I'm glad you're ok. You scared us when you fell, we didn't know what was wrong."

I bowed my head slightly. "Sorry…" I whispered weakly.

She shook her head. "No need to be. Wait here while I get you something to eat." I nodded once more and she smiled and then stood, heading into another room. Soon she returned, setting a bowl of steaming stew in front of me.

Not even caring what was in it, I accepted it and ate quickly, trying to force myself to slow down as I felt her eyes on me. I finished and she took the bowl back. "Thank you…" I whispered again, and she smiled before leaving with the bowl. I clenched a fist, slowly feeling my strength beginning to return.

I gazed straight ahead at the wall as if in a trance so when Megumi appeared and pressed her hand to my forehead I jumped badly. She jumped as well and then laughed. "Calm down, I'm just feeling your temperature." I nodded and allowed her to continue. "Well you feel back to normal." She smiled. "Do you feel better?"

I nodded slightly. "Yes, thank you." She offered me a hand and helped me to my feet, asking me my name. "Kira." I replied softly. She smiled and led me out the door.

In the yard in front of the building the rest of the people had gathered and now all ceased what they were doing to stare as I was led wobbling across the ground. We reached them and I stood in front, aware of them all looking me over. Finally Kenshin stepped forward, holding out a hand. "My name is Kenshin." He said casually. "What is yours miss?"

"Kira." I said simply, taking his hand and shaking it softly.

He smiled and introduced me to the others and I greeted them all cheerfully, my strength returning along with my happy nature. I paused, watching Sano as he refused to look at me. "What's… wrong?" I started.

He glanced at me, making eye contact and froze. His mouth opened to speak but no sound came out.

I tilted my head to the side curiously. _Is he that scared of me?_ I wondered and then repeated my question, "what's wrong?"

He shook his head. "N-nothing." He stammered, crossing his arms and trying to remain tough looking through his obvious fear.

I smiled harmlessly. "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything. Except… could I have a picture of you all and maybe me in it with you?" I asked.

After a quick explanation they agreed and made Sano stay by force as I set up the camera. The technology did nothing to help Sano's superstitious, paranoid mind as he assume it was evil, bent on stealing all of our souls. Finally the picture took with a flash and I smiled as I placed it back in my bag that hung on my shoulder.

Kenshin stepped forward. "Why is it you carry a sword?"

I shrugged. "For protection." Was my simple reply and they all easily accepted it.

After some coaxing they got me to reenter the house with them and tell of my reasons for falling out of the sky. I told them everything starting at the abduction by Akumei and ending on the visit with Gohan and the others. Some of them believed, some didn't but I didn't mind. They could think what they wanted, I would be gone soon. I was almost comforted by that thought. Nothing was happening here. In the show, Rurouni Kenshin, there seemed to almost always be something going on. I must've come during a short period of peace. It was very boring compared to what had happened everywhere else I had been.

Akumei's voice could not have come soon enough. When it finally did we were all gathered around a small table, girls on their knees and guys sitting cross legged, Indian style. Having eaten earlier that day I didn't partake in the meal with the rest.

_Kira?_ Akumei sounded suddenly in my mind and I froze, pressing both hands to my head, aware of the headache suddenly returning.

_Yes?_

I heard him laugh at my simple reply. _Are you ready to try again?_

_Of course, _I smiled.

_Ok, prepare yourself. _He said simply and then he left.

I glanced up at the others, realizing they were all staring at me and smiled weakly through the eye watering headache. "That was Akumei, it's time for me to go now." I said.

"What?" They all exclaimed.

"You don't look too good, are you ok?" Kenshin asked.

I nodded, one hand on my head, the other in my lap and smiled slightly. "Yes, just another headache." I saw them jump back as I began to glow softly. "It's alright." I laughed. "I won't forget you guys… Bye!" I called as I disappeared for good.

They remained silent and staring in shock at where I had been until Yahiko broke the tension by stealing the last piece of food from a bowl. Kaoru turned on him. "Hey Yahiko, I was going to take that one!" Yahiko popped it promptly into his mouth and as Kaoru glared at him, he gave a content smile.

They returned to normal almost as if I had never been there at all.

* * *

Akumei smiled and leaned back against a tree. "She didn't talk much but she seemed perfectly fine." He announced before closing his eyes. Everyone stared at him but no one spoke. 


	18. Naruto

* * *

I hit the ground with a thud, completely missing the fact that I was falling to begin with. Immediately my hands found my head and I held it tight, closing my eyes. 

"Did you see that? She just fell from the sky!"

"Who is she? You need permission to enter another village…"

I glanced up to find two people staring down at me. The boy had spiked up blonde hair and the girl had short pink hair. "Where am I…?" I asked, falling forward with the last word and clutching my head tighter.

"What's wrong?" The blonde boy asked, leaning towards me.

"It… hurts!" I managed to answer as I sat on my knees, eyes tight and forehead touching the ground.

"Sorry I'm late. Today I got lost…" I heard a new voice arrive and grow, as it grew closer. "What are you doing?" He asked as he kneeled beside me.

I slightly raised my head just enough to look at him. He looked sternly down at me, a mask covering all of his face but one eye. His hair was grey. I saw a hand reach towards me and then my vision went blurry and I blacked out, falling to the ground.

When I next awoke that same face was smiling down at me. I held my head and smiled softly back, realizing I was inside and on a bed. "Uh, thanks." I muttered.

"Don't worry about it." He replied. "I am Kakashi. May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Kira…" I replied, sitting up slowly.

Suddenly the same blonde haired boy jumped in my face. "What are you?" He yelled. I laughed uncomfortably as Kakashi shoved him away.

"Please forgive my students." He said. "Though I was wondering the same thing myself."

"Well I guess that's to be expected…" I replied.

"They say you fell from the sky. How is that so?" Kakashi added.

"Heh, you didn't give me a chance to answer the first!" I laughed. "To answer it, I'm a wolf demon though I'm not full."

"Not full?" I looked up to find the owner of the question. A black haired boy was standing back in the shadows, glaring at me unblinking.

"Yeah, my father wasfully dogdemon, but my mother was a half wolfdemon so that means I have some human, wolfand dogin me as well." I replied, staring back.

"Why should we trust a demon?" He asked. I saw the blonde boy tense slightly.

"Well I haven't tried anything yet have I?"

"That's because you had passed out." He shot back.

"Then I don't think that'd make me seem very threatening would it?" I replied.

"Now that's enough." Kakashi interrupted. "What about my second question?"

"I was transported here." I said simply.

The pink haired girl blinked. "Transported?" She echoed.

I nodded. "I was sent from my world. To bring me back I am sent to a different world each time until I end up back home again. A game of chance."

Kakashi nodded, seeming to accept my story."Well this is Naruto." He pointed to the blonde boy. "She is Sakura." He indicated the girl. "And he is Sasuke." He finished, nodding towards the black haired boy.

They all greeted me and I smiled in return, except Sasuke who just glared untrustingly. "Why were you sent away?" Sasuke asked. "It must have been for something really bad."

I shook my head. "No. It was someone whose goal in life is to see my brother suffer. He thought it would really crush him if I were taken. You see we were separated for over five hundred years and he took me againafter being reunited for only a short time."

The silence that followed was horrible as I sat there staring at the groundand they took in what I had said. A few minutes passed before I finally spoke again. "I've caused enough trouble for you. Thanks and I'm sorry. I'll leave now…" I said as I slid from the bed and headed towards the door. I turned in surprise as Sasuke caught my wrist.

He pulled me back and stared at me, emotionless. "Want to fight?"

I blinked a few times. "What?"

"I said do you want to fight? I can tell you're strong." Sasuke repeated.

I glanced over towards Kakashi who nodded encouragingly and turned back towards Sasuke. "I guess so…"

"Good." He pulled me through the door and down a path outside.

"What does he think he's doing?" Naruto screamed as he took off after us.

_Who does she think she is? Holding his hand…_ Sakura glared as she started to follow too. Kakashi smiled to himself and went after us as well.

When they all arrived, Sasuke and me were standing facing each other. He was glaring daggers while I glanced around uncertainly. Suddenly Sasuke ran at me and my hand shot up, catching his before it hit. He blinked at me and sprang away while I stayed where I was. He approached me again and I knocked his kick away. "Why aren't you trying?" He muttered as he backed away again.

"You seriously want me to try?" I asked. He nodded and I grinned. "Ok… get ready!" I leapt at him and he fell back as I appeared in his face. I swung my hand at him and stopped with my claws just touching his cheek. I smiled as his eyes widened in shock. "You really don't want me to try…"

Sasuke recovered and jumped away quickly, once again glaring at me. Naruto and Sakura were staring in shock while Kakashi just watched. "So…" I started, sticking my tongue out with a grin. "Are we done?"

"Let me try!" Naruto called.

"Ha! You wouldn't last a second!" Sakura yelled at him.

I laughed and then turned towards Sasuke nervously. "Um…"

"Humph." He muttered. "It's ok." He walked over to the others and I slowly followed.

"That was awesome!" Naruto yelled. "I'm going to become as strong as you!"

I laughed. "I'm not that tough. At least not compared to my friends."

"Really?" Kakashi asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, they're the ones training me." I explained. Suddenly I fell to the ground, once again clutching my head.

"Are you ok?" Naruto asked.

"It's alright. Quiet for a second." I muttered, closing my eyes. _Kira?_ Akumei's voice sounded clear throughout my head.

_Akumei? You found me quickly this time!_

_Yeah. Your brother wants to talk to you and then I have something important to say._

_All right. _I replied.

_Kira?_ I heard Inuyasha's voice this time.

_Hi!_

_Are you ok? He said your head was hurting last time?_

_Yeah butI thinkthat was only because I used up a whole lot of energy at one time._

_What were you doing?_

_Training. Be sure to tell that to Yusuke and the guys._

_Ok. Are you ok now?_

_Yeah and I'm really missing you guys…_

_I miss you too. If he doesn't get you back here soon I will kill him._

_But then he won't be able to get me back at all!_

There was a pause until Inuyasha replied again. _Well, whatever. Come back soon._

_I'll try Inuyasha._

_Talk to you later… _His voice faded and Akumei's came back again. _Ok, important thing. Want to hear it? _He asked.

_Of course!_

_I think I have figured out how to make you revisit only places you've already been. That will greatly narrow down the possible places you can end up, hopefully bringing you back here within a couple more tries._

_That's awesome! I miss all of you so much! I can't wait to get back!_

I heard Akumei laugh. _I thought you'd like that. Now, get ready though it will take a little longer than normal to send you this time._

_It's ok, as long as it works._

_Right, get ready and don't move from that spot._

_Got it. _I looked up at the people surrounding me. "I need to take your picture before I leave.

"What are you talking about? What just happened?" Naruto asked, bewildered.

"That was the one who sends me between worlds. He's going to transfer me again but I can't move from this spot. He's learned to narrow down the places I can end up so I might make it home this time!" I squealed happily.

"Well congratulations." Sasuke muttered.

"Aw, don't be mad." I whined. "Besides, I need to take a picture of all of you guys."

"What for?" Sakura asked.

"I'm keeping track of all the places I go by taking pictures of everyone I meet." I explained. "Please?"

"Of course!" Kakashi replied, backing slightly away and calling his students to him. They grouped together and I quickly snapped two pictures.

"Thanks so much!" I cried. "You guys rock." I jumped as my hands started to flicker. _I expected to wait longer than this…_ I thought. "Well, it's time for me to go!" I smiled. "Thanks for everything and I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused."

"Not at all." Kakashi replied.

I smiled again. "Bye…" Suddenly I fell forward, once more clutching my head. "Ow…" I groaned. I heard them coming towards me but yelled out. "No! I don't want you to be transported with me!" I heard their footsteps stop and smiled slightly, looking up. "I'll be fine…" As soon as I spoke these words a sharp pain surged across the back of my head and I passed out just as I disappeared, leaving them staring at the soft idents I had left in the dirt.

* * *

Akumei fell back against a tree, smiling triumphantly. "What's your problem?" Inuyasha asked, glaring at him. 

"I've figured out how to make sure she only goes to worlds that she's been to already." Akumei replied, still beaming.

"So?" Inuyasha asked.

Akumei stared at him. "Don't you see? Now instead of just going to any random world she has to go to one she's already visited. That cuts down the possibilities greatly!"

"Oh, ok…" Inuyasha said. "So she should be back within a few days?"

"Maybe less." Akumei said, settling back again and closing his eyes. "I'll try harder than ever now…"


	19. Full Metal Alchemist

* * *

I fell half conscious from the sky and only barely aware that I was falling. I struck the ground, landing hard on my shoulder in the middle of what felt like a paved sidewalk. I forced my hands to rise and started vigorously rubbing my eyes, hoping the blurriness would clear up. My ears twitched as I heard loud clanking metal accompanied by almost normal footsteps approaching. One of the feet sounded like flesh but the other metal.There were many voices in the background but these two came close.

I felt arms on my back to help me sit up and one of them spoke. "Are you ok?"

I nodded, wincing as I did so. "What's wrong?" Asked another, younger voice.

"My head…" I managed to say before I blacked out totally.

Two large metal arms scooped me up and followed another into a nearby building. Quickly entering a room they brought me there and set me on the bed. After a few minutes I awoke slowly and looked around taking in the plainess of the room. I placed one hand on my head and used the other to help myself sit up. Immediately the two who had helped me jumped to my side. I stared at them with wide eyes. Once was in a huge suit of armor. To my surprise I found out he was the one with the young voice. I knew him to be Al. The other had blonde hair tied back in a braid. He wore black with a red jacket and two white gloves. This one was Ed.

"The full metal alchemist…" I said in awe, looking straight at Ed.

Ed stared at me and then smiled proudly. "So you know who I am!" He exclaimed. "But it seems I should know who you are…" He added, poking my ear curiously.

I shook my head. "I-I'm not supposed to be here." I said. At their looks I sighed and quickly explained about my world hopping. Seeming to believe me they nodded and agreed to let me stay with them until I had to leave again. "But first can I take your pictures?" I asked with a smile. After telling them why they agreed again and I got one of myself with the both of them.

"But don't you want mine as well then?" I jumped as a voice sounded from a dark corner of the room, with a shadowy figure emerging right behind. He was wearing a full blue uniform with a white glove on each hand, both embroidered with a symbol on the back. He smiled, brushing the black hair from his eyes. "Forgive me, my name is Roy Mustang, the fire alchemist. And you are?"

"Kira…" I said in a near whisper.

He took another step forward and then anotheruntil he was against the bed I sat on. Reaching out he took one of my ears into his hand between his forefinger and thumb and rubbed it gently. Immediately my eyes drooped as I went totally limp and he laughed. "I've found her weakness!"

"What are you all doing in here?" A man poked his head into the room.

"Hughes, shut the door." Roy commanded.

The man stepped quickly inside, shutting the door behind him. "Who is that?"

"Kira apparently…" Roy replied, still rubbing my ear gently as he laughed. "Just like a puppy." I was too weak to respond.

Hughes laughed, adjusting his glasses as he came closer. "Wait, why is she here?"

"Just what I was wondering… boys?" Roy asked, turning to Al and Ed.

"She fell from the sky…" Ed said, watching Roy's fingers flicking across my ear's surface. "She passed out and we brought her here."

"Why here?"

"Where else could we have brought her without being sure to endanger her?"

"So you intended to help her and then sneak her back out before anyone realized she was here?" Roy asked. "How cruel…" He released my ear and I sat back up, my face glowing red. "Now Kira, do you want to take a picture of the famous flame alchemist?"

"S-sure…" I muttered, bringing out the camera once more. Roy and Hughes got on either side of me and Ed snapped a quick picture before I stuffed it back into its bag.

Bidding me goodbye, the pair left the room, pausing to talk as they opened the door. "I'd like to see her in a mini skirt…" Roy whispered and Hughes nodded vigorously.

I felt my fist clench as I spoke angrily. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" They chanted in union as they quickly left the room.

After taking a moment to make sure they were gone, Ed, Al and I went outside. As I walked I ducked behind Al to escape some of the stares I was getting. After a moment of doing nothing but walking aimlessly around I turned to them. "Can I see you make something?" I asked hopefully.

With a smile Ed stepped up. "Sure." He crouched down placing both hands on the sand and slowly raised them. A bright light flashed and then disappeared quickly. He picked something off of the ground and handed it to me. "For you." He said jokingly.

I took it slowly and turned it over in my hands. It was a small metal statue of a wolf with very intricate details. I noticed a small crescent moon on its forehead and two red streaks under its left eye and laughed. "Thank you so much. I'll keep it always." I grinned, slipping it carefully into my camera bag, something I knew I'd keep safe.

Suddenly both of my hands snapped to my head and I froze, wincing. I quieted the Elric brothers before they could speak. _Did it work?_ I heard Akumei ask.

_No._ I replied sadly. _I passed out before I was transported._

_What? How?_

_I don't know, my head just started hurting really bad and I passed out…_

_Well you remember what I said right?_

_Yes._

_Then let's try it again._

_Ok._ I said and then he was gone. Almost instantly a faint light enveloped me. Slowly it grew brighter as I smiled. "I might make it home this time." I said. "I'll never forget you guys though!"

They nodded and smiled, wishing me good luck and I nodded with my own smile in return before I disappeared totally.

* * *

"So what happened?" Kurama asked as he saw Akumei lean back with a sigh. 

"She had passed out just as I was transporting her last time so it didn't work. It was just a headache though!" Akumei replied hastily. "Hopefully it will work this time."


	20. Revisiting Saiyuki

* * *

I fell headfirst expecting to see the green grasses of home but was instead greeted by a barren wasteland. "What's going on?" I cried as I slowed and landed softly in the sand. I stood and looked around seeing only the flat plains of sand. "So…" I thought aloud as I peered around. "If I can now only go to places I've already been then I must be in Saiyuki or Trigun maybe? This sucks! I thought I'd make it home!" I yelled, clenching my fists.

"Are you lost then?" A voice asked from behind me. I jumped and whirled around to face a man with long hair, kept back with a headband. His ears were long and pointed and three lines came across his cheek under the left eye.

"Uh… yeah." I almost whispered in reply.

"What are you doing?" Called another, bigger man with short hair as he came running towards us. "Who's she?" He asked, stopping to elbow the first man suggestively in the side.

"Shut up and quit!" The man yelled. I looked up to see two more coming towards us. One was a girl with long hair and the other was a little girl who looked like the first man I had seen. He turned towards me. "I'm Kougaiji. Who are you?" He asked.

"My name is Kira…" I said quietly.

"Are you a youkai?" Asked the little girl, indicating my markings and strange features.

"Uh… yeah." I replied nervously. "And all of you are too…"

There was a long pause, broken by Kougaiji. "Why aren't you attacking anyone? I see no power limiters…" He wondered aloud.

"Power limiters?" I asked blankly.

I shrank back as all of them stared at me. "The thing that keeps you in control of your actions. How are you in control without one?" Kougaiji asked again.

"Well I… I'm not a full youkai." I whispered.

They all stared at me again. "How is that possible?" The bigger man asked.

"Where I come from it just is…"

"And where is that?" Kougaiji asked.

"Another world." At there blank stares I sighed and took a deep breath, growing tired of constantly repeating everything yet doing it anyway. "Well I was sent from my world by a man hired by another man who hates my brother and I happened to end up here."

"How?" The older girl asked simply.

I shrugged. "I don't know… Akumei just has the power to do things like that. Transportation."

There was a long pause that Kougaiji finally broke. "Well this is Dokugakuji." He pointed to the larger man who grinned at me. Next he pointed to the older girl who smiled softly. "She is Yaone and she is my little sister Lurin." He finished, indicating the littlest girl.

I bowed slightly and smiled. "It's nice to meet you all…" I said quietly. "But I should be going."

"To where?" Yaone asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know… I just don't want to cause you any trouble."

Dokugakuji laughed. "Don't worry! We're always in trouble."

He grinned as Kougaiji turned to glare at him before facing me. "You shouldn't wander the desert alone, you'll be attacked."

"I know but…" I trailed off as I searched for what to say.

"You can stay with us until you have to go again." Kougaiji said as he turned and began walking away. I stared after him for a moment and Yaone smiled at me, beckoning for me to follow as she did herself. I lingered for a moment more before deciding to go as well.

As we walked along in some random direction through a forest they questioned me about my home and I ended up telling them everything. They were very kind and easy to trust. They reminded me greatly of Sanzo and the others, even though they are enemies in the show.

"Well, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are my half brothers and-" I stopped in mid sentence and turned to stare deeper into the woods.

"What's wrong?" Yaone asked.

"Someone's there…" I muttered as I peered into the woods. "They're attacking a girl!" I shouted suddenly as I sprinted away. The others exchanged quick glances before darting after me. I cried out in alarm as I stumbled into a clearing just in time to see a little girl being slaughtered by a pack of youkai. "How could you?" I screamed as tears fell down my face. Kougaiji and the others stopped at the edge and stared at me.

"More meat!" One of the youkai laughed as he approached me.

"How could you!" I screamed again, much louder this time. The advancing youkai froze as I glared at him, my eyes glowing bright red. Without a word I sprang at him, my claws and arm piercing straight through his stomach. The remaining six cried in rage and leapt at me. I took two out with a swing of my sword and killed another on outstretched claws. The last three stopped and tried to run away. I leapt in the air and landed in front of them.

"Please! Spare us!" They cried.

"Oh yeah, like you did that little girl?" I yelled as I struck down another. While my back was turned one of them drew a dagger and swung it as my head. I spun around and caught the dagger in my teeth. My eyes blazed bright as I stabbed my sword through his stomach. The last opened his mouth to plead for his life but my claws found their way to his neck before a word could escape it. Breathing hard, I collapsed and crawled to the little girl. I held back a sob as I peered at her mangled body and then back towards the ones I had killed. "I'm sorry…" I whispered, my eyes changing from red to dark blue. "I didn't make it in time."

I jumped as a hand touched my shoulder and looked up to see Kougaiji. "How did you know?" He asked.

I wiped my eyes. "I could smell her blood and hear the shouts of the youkai and still I didn't make it in time."

"It's ok…" Kougaiji assured me. "Let's move on."

I nodded and stood, stopping suddenly to glance at the girl's body. I saw her arm move and crouched beside her quickly. I reached under her and pulled out a little kitten, pure black though its fur was drenched in blood. It looked up at me with bright blue eyes and meowed helplessly. "You must have been hers…" I whispered as I held it close and turned towards the others. "Let's go."

Kougaiji nodded and slowly we all followed after him. After a while of silence meant to let me calm down,Dokugakuji turned towards me and grinned. "Well, that was one hell of a fight!" He cried.

"Well, I've been training." I responded with a laugh.

"Training? For what?" Lurin asked.

"A tournament." I sighed.

"What kind of tournament?" Kougaiji asked.

"A fight between powerful teams of demons to the death." I muttered.

"Then why are you fighting?" Yaone exclaimed.

"My teammates needed a fifth member. I was chosen because of the excessive amount of spirit energy I have." I explained, trying to clean the kitten of some of the blood.

Kougaiji watched me for a moment. "You're a wolf demon right?" I nodded. "Then why is it that cat likes you?"

I smiled. "It just knows I mean it no harm." I replied as I continued cleaning it with no success.

Kougaiji sighed and turned towards me. "We'll stop at the next town."

"What?" I exclaimed. "I told you not to go through any extra trouble for me!"

"You keep wiping at it and nothing is changing. I know Lurin would like to see it clean as well." Kougaiji explained. "Plus, you're covered in blood yourself."

"Well… ok…" I muttered as we changed direction, heading out of the forest.

After several minutes we emerged from the trees and faced a town sitting at the base of a hill. Without a word Kougaiji headed towards it and the rest of us followed without question. A lot of people stared as we headed down the street but didn't approach us and let us go on our way. We entered a store and Yaone helped me find an outfit while Kougaiji paid, ignoring my protests. Next we headed to a small fountain in the middle of town and I cleaned off the kitten.

As we started walking again I stopped and sniffed the air. "What is it?" Dokugakuji asked me.

"It's… them!" I cried and suddenly turned towards the group. "Thank you for everything, I have to go now but first can I take your picture? I've already told you why."

"I guess…" Kougaiji muttered as they all grouped together. I jumped in the middle and snapped the picture smiling happily with the kitten on my head.

"Thanks a lot! I'm really sorry but I have to go now…"

"Why so sudden?" Kougaiji asked.

"I sensed something…" I muttered.

"Do you need help with it?" Yaone asked.

"No but thanks for the offer. I've been enough trouble…" I grinned.

"But I don't want you to go!" Lurin cried, clinging to my arm.

"I'm sorry." I laughed. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime?" I managed to slip away and disappeared into the crowd.

The group all watched me go. "Follow her?" Dokugakuji suggested. Slowly they started after me through the people.

I paused once to sniff the air before heading into the nearest bar. "Hi!" I squealed, leaping towards a table. "What's up?"

The men at the table looked up at me in shock as I scooted onto the bench beside the youngest. "Kira?" One of them exclaimed.

I grinned. "Hey Hakkai! How's it been since I left?"

I was sitting at a table with Sanzo, Gojyo, Goku and Hakkai. I had picked up their scent in the street and couldn't help but follow. Hakkai turned to me. "Actually we haven't had much excitement since then."

"That's good right?" I teased.

"If you like things boring…" Gojyo sighed. "Hey… What's with the cat?" He asked, lifting it from my shoulders.

"Don't hurt it!" I cried. "I found youkai in some woods nearby. They had killed a little girl."

"So what did you do?" Goku cried, horrorstruck.

My face fell and I stared at my lap. "I… I killed them all." I continued before they could say anything. "But then I saw something moving under the girl. At first I thought she was still alive but then found that it was just the kitten underneath her."

"I see…" Gojyo said as he handed the cat back to me.

I took it and it immediately curled up in my lap. I smiled as I stroked it. Goku reached to rub it too. "What's its name?"

"I don't know… Oh!" I cried. "How about Kurri!"

"Kurri?" Gojyo laughed.

I blushed and looked down. "My friend and me, we would tease and pretend we had kittens. Mine was named Kurri. What about you?" I asked, turning towards the cat. "Do you like that name?" I laughed as the kitten looked up at me and purred. "Then Kurri it is." I declared. I suddenly looked up. "Oh no." I muttered.

"What?" Sanzo asked.

"Kira, you know them?" A voice yelled at me from behind. I turned to see Kougaiji and the others in the doorway of the bar.

Slowly I nodded as Sanzo leapt to his feet. "I knew you were a traitor!" He yelled at me.

"No!" I cried. "I met them when I entered this world just now! They found me and told me to stay with them until I had to go!"

"And then she ran away to you guys." Kougaiji muttered.

"She must like us better!" Gojyo smirked as he rose too.

"Please don't fight!" I called as I stood as well.

"Out of the way!" Goku cried as he pushed past me. "We have a score to settle!" Kougaiji grunted and stepped forward.

Sanzo turned to me. "Get all the humans out of here."

"You're not mad?" I asked.

"I don't care about that, just do it!" He yelled impatiently. I nodded and ran around the bar, ushering people out of the doors and forcefully removing some drunkards. When they were all gone I returned to the groups. They had collided and it was now Goku fighting Kougaiji, Hakkai with Yaone and Gojyo and Dokugakuji. I couldn't hold back my giggle as I watched Sanzo feeding Lurin to keep her calm. Slowly I joined them.

"You're not going to help?" I asked.

He shrugged. "If they can't handle their own battles, they don't deserve to live." I nodded and grew silent as I watched the fighting continue. Suddenly I felt something wrap around my leg and screamed as it pulled me over. Everyone turned as Sanzo caught my hand and kept me from being pulled in.

I chanced a look behind me and froze in terror. "Oh my god!" I screamed. Kurri leapt, hissing, from my arms and scratched at the almost invisible thread that held my feet. "Stop Kurri, you'll get caught too." Obedientlyhe stopped but remained close by me. If you followed the thread back to the source you could see a giant spider looming in the shadows of the back room.

"Is it yours?" Sanzo screamed. "Call it off!"

"Don't you think I would've by now?" Kougaiji yelled back.

I felt myself being pulled in and Sanzo's hand started to slip. "Don't let go!" I cried hysterically. "Please!"

"What are you so afraid of?" Gojyo yelled as he came to my side. He took my other hand and hauled me slightly to my feet as I answered.

"It's a giant, black, fuzzy spider! Am I not supposed to be freaked out?" I screamed again as my feet were pulled out from under me and grabbed Gojyo around the waist so I wouldn't fall. He held out his weapon and sliced at the thread thatwound tightly around my anklesbut it didn't cut.

"Damn." He muttered. "We'll have to try something else."

"You killed my youkai brothers, girl. Now I will eat your flesh!" A voice echoed from the dark sending shivers throughout my body and the hairs on my tail stood on end. "But first the meal you stole…"

Kurri shrieked as something wound around his waistand lifted him into the air. "Stop!" I yelled. Pulling one arm from Gojyo's waist, I aimed my hand at Kurri and a transparentgreen ball encased him. With a quick draw back of my hand, Kurri and the ball that held him were zooming back towards me. I caught him and held him close as I clawed at the thread where Gojyo had weakened it.

Just as I was almost through the spider burst through the wall. I screamed as it advanced towards me and shot a blast of energy at it. The attack had no effect and it kept coming. Gojyo grabbed me tighter and started backing slowly but a wall sat right behind us. "A little help here guys?" He called nervously.

The spider was almost upon us and I quickly drew my sword. "Pathetic girl, you think your sword can hurt me?" It cried.

"I don't know, let's try it out!" I yelled as I plunged the sword into one of the eight legs. The spider screeched as the blade sank in deep. With a swift flick to the side the leg fell off and the spider sank back into the shadows.

"It's not over…" Hakkai muttered as he peered into the room.

With a shriek the spider leapt forward again, a newly grown leg in the place of the cut one. "Crap!" I screamed as another leg darted at me. "Don't let it touch me!" I cried as I leapt to the side, not thinking to release Gojyo's waistand instead pulled him with me. The wall where we had been standing burst into rubble and the tears started leaking out.

"Don't cry! Why are you crying?" Gojyo yelled at me.

"It's a giant spider! Kill it! Please!" I screamed as I backed further away. It lunged at me again and I screamed just as someone leapt overhead. Goku landed in front of us and hit the spider hard with his staff. Instead of screaming though, the spider just laughed and struck again, knocking Goku to the side. "I want to go home!" I yelled as I slid to the side again.

"Get behind me." Gojyo muttered as he jumped in front. He blocked the leg and held it still. Another shot towards his side and I leapt up to block it with my sword. Still yet another came at his other side and at the last second Dokugakuji leapt in the way of that too. With a cry of rage the spider tried to pull back but we held three of its legs securely.

"Someone kill it!" I yelled.

"You kill it. You're the one it's after." Sanzo ordered.

Slowly I pulled back a hand, trying to hold my sword still with one as the spider pressed against it. I felt my feet sliding across the floorand was pressed against Gojyo's side as my free hand glowed green. A ball appeared in it and slowly grew to the size of a basketball. Still I kept it going, trying to guess how big it would need to be to kill a spider the size of a bus in one shot. Finally, when the blast was half as big as myself I let it go. With sickening sounds, the beam shot the spider, hitting it full in the face. It screeched and writhed in pain as the blast erupted from the other side. With a huge thud it hit the ground, blood leaking steadily across the floorand didn't move again.

I dropped my sword and collapsed where I stood, breathing heavily. Kurri walked over and licked my hand as I rubbed him without thinking. I stared at the corpse of the spider with wide eyes until Gojyo snapped me out of it. "That was great!" He said, offering me a hand.

I blinked and slowly took it. "Thanks…" I muttered, holding my head.

"What's wrong?" Goku asked.

"Using too much energy makes me dizzy. I haven't finished training…" The last word trialed as I fell over backwards into Kougaiji's waiting arms.

"She's exhausted herself." He stated.

"Hey, give her back!" Goku yelled.

I laughed slowly. "It's ok, I'll just stay here until-" I moaned and fell over suddenly, clutching my head.

"What's wrong?" Gojyo asked, crouching beside me.

"Quiet… It's Akumei!" I ordered and everyone just stared at me.

_Kira? _Akumei's voice said. _Did it work? Are you at least somewhere you've been before?_

_Yes! I'm back in Saiyuki again._

_Great! Are you ready to try it again?_

_Of course! Oh, and would something mess up if I brought an animal with me?_

_I don't think so…_

_Good! Then I'm ready to go._

_Ok, I hope to see you soon Kira._

_You too Akumei. _With that I ended and looked up at everyone. "I'm leaving now." I announced.

"W-what?" Lurin yelled. "I don't want you to go!"

I smiled. "Sorry, but I want to go home. I don't belong here."

"Yes you do! You get along with all of us!" Goku pointed out.

I shook my head. "I would miss my family way too much, and my friends. I can't stay away from them forever."

"I understand." Kougaiji said and everyone stared at him. "I wish you good luck."

"Thanks." I said, smiling gratefully. I crouched down and adjusted the sword and camera bag. "Come here Kurri." I called and he leapt easily into my lap. I looked up at everyone who had gathered around me, their groups intertwined. "Thanks for letting me stay with you and sorry for the trouble I caused." I laughed with a nervous smile. "Don't kill each other, ok?"

"I won't promise anything." Sanzo muttered.

I nodded just as my arm flickered. I held Kurri close to keep him from leaping away. "Well, it's time to go. Maybe I'll come back someday!"

"Bye." They all said together.

"Good luck with the tournament." Dokugakuji added.

I smiled. "Thank-" As I was saying my last wordthere was a rumble and a slight shaking fromabove us.A piece of the ceiling fell and struck me on the head just as my whole body began to glow.

"Kira!" Hakkai exclaimed but I was already half gone. "That's not good…"

"What?" Goku asked. "She'll recover!"

"That's not it. She told us that she has to be awake to be transported but she was just knocked out in the middle! I wonder what effect that will have?" He wondered as the rest of me disappeared too.

"Well, it's too late now." Gojyo thought aloud.

* * *

Akumei looked up sharply and stared towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha sensed the eyes in his back and turned towards him. "What?"

"I lost her in the middle of the transformation."

"What do you mean, lost her?" Inuyasha cried.

"I was transporting her and suddenly she seemed to disappear. She must've been knocked unconscious." Akumei concluded.

"But what does that mean for where she'll end up?" Kurama asked.

Akumei shrugged. "Probably that she'll just end up like normal, in a totally random world. I'll start finding her now." He closed his eyes again and everyone took this as the signal for them to be quiet.


	21. Shaman King

* * *

I awoke to the frantic meowing of Kurri who was still tucked tightly in my arms. I blinked a few times before realizing that I was falling. "What the-" I cried out as someone's arms wrapped around me, pulling me close. I looked up into the face of a man with long black hair.

The man smiled down at me and spoke. "I don't know where you came from but I can't let you interfere with Yoh's battle."

"Battle?" I echoed. We landed on top of a building the man released me. Quickly I crawled over to the side of it and peered down. My eyes widened at what I saw. A blue spiky haired boy strapped to a snowboard stuck his hand out and instantly the ground in front of him erupted in icy pillars. They sprang towards a boy with short brown hair who stood calmly in the way. At the last second he swung the sword he held and all the ice burst in half, stopping before it struck him. In his surprise the boy with the snowboard fell off a short ledge to land flat on his face. I turned slowly back to the man who had carried me away. "What is this?"

"The Shaman fight of this year." He answered.

"Really?" I cried. "So that's Yoh and Horohoro fighting it out right there?"

"Uh… yeah. How'd you know?" The man asked.

"Er… lucky guess?" I laughed nervously. I tensed as something cold and wet hit my skin. I stared at my arm for a moment before looking up at the night sky. "It's snowing?" I muttered.

The man nodded and stood by my side. "Horohoro is showing his true power."

My ears twitched and I looked around. "What's that noise?" I jumped as a massive wall of snow burst over a building and buried the whole area. Yoh was nowhere to be found. My eyes scanned the field until they rested on one spot. "There." I said and the man stared at me with an eye raised. Horohoro crouched on the ground obviously thinking the fight to be over but suddenly tensed. Right where I had indicated, Yoh burst from the snow, leaping high into the air and over Horohoro. With a swing of his sword a massive jet of wind shot forward and struck the ground where Horohoro cowered. "He missed." I muttered and again the man shot me an odd look. Sure enough, when the smoke and rubble cleared there sat Horohoro, hands over his head, sitting beside a massive crack in the ground. "Yoh wins." I finished and leaned back from the edge of the building. "Did you see that?" I asked Kurri as I rubbed him. "That was awesome!"

"Are you a shaman?" The man asked suddenly, sitting in front of me.

"Me? Of course not…" I responded.

"Then how did you know where Yoh was so easily? You weren't fooled even for a second."

I laughed. "My training must be working."

"Training? I knew you were a shaman! Don't lie!"

I fell back at the man's accusations. "Hey, I'm not a shaman! I'm training for a totally different tournament."

"Is part of your training to fall from the sky?"

"That was an accident."

"How so? And why do you have a tail and sword?" The man asked, pointing an accusing finger.

"I was transported here from my home, in another world." Before he could object I explained. "There's someone totally against my brother who wants to see him hurt so he arranged for Akumei to send me away forever. Well, Akumei did but my family and friends have him now and are making him bring me back so I keep switching between worlds and will until I make it back home to my own. Um… And that's the truth, I promise."

The man stared at me for a moment before nodding. "I believe you. By the way, I'm Silva. And you are?"

"Kira." I smiled. "Can I take your picture?"

"What for?" Silva asked, taken aback by my request.

"I'm keeping track of everyone I meet along the way!"

"I guess…"

"Thanks!" I cried as I scooted beside him and snapped the picture. "Why are we on top of a building?" I asked suddenly as if just noticing.

"To be able to watch yet still be out of the way." Silva responded.

"Oh…"

"You should go meet Yoh." Silva suggested.

"Me? What for?"

Silva shrugged. "You don't have anything else to do it seems."

"I guess you're right… Ok, I will." I bid him goodbye and took Kurri up in my arms, jumping nimblyoff the side of the building.

As Silva watched me falling he shook his head and laughed. "A very strange girl."

I heard some cry out as I landedlightly in a kneeling position and looked up to face a terrified Manta, Yoh's friend. "Hey." I smiled.

"W-where did you come from?" He stammered.

"Nowhere." I responded. I looked up as Yoh approached me and smiled again. "Congrats on your win Yoh!" I turned to Horohoro as well. "And nice try. You did very well. The snow part was awesome."

Everyone stared at me in silence before Yoh finally spoke. "Do I know you?"

I shrugged. "Probably not but some guy told me I should hang out with you until I have to leave again."

"And when is that?" A girl asked, stepping up. It was Anna, Yoh's fiancé and trainer.

"I don't know, whenever Akumei contacts me. It shouldn't be long though." I assured them.

Anna continued glaring at me. "What are you and why are you carrying a weapon?" The others noticed it too and slowly backed away.

"Aw, that's not nice." I laughed nervously. "If you want the truth I'm three fourths wolf demon and one fourth human with just a tiny bit of dog demon as well. I carry the sword because it's the only thing I have that was made for me by my father to protect me if I get in trouble. I'm not a shaman though so don't worry about that."

"Why should we trust you?" Anna asked.

"Well, I just told the truth… It's pretty likely to be true, don't you think?" I looked straight past Yoh and smiled. "I know you believe me, Amidamaru."

The huge samurai ghost stared at me in shock for a moment. "You can see me?" He asked.

"Of course." I nodded. "Why else would I be talking to you?"

Suddenly Yoh stepped forward with a smile. "You can come with us.

"No she can't!" Anna yelled.

"She can see ghosts. Only decent people can see ghosts so she must be very good. I didn't have to mention them first like I did for Manta." Yoh continued.

"But she's a demon!" Manta said, trembling.

I laughed. "Do I look like an evil demon? Plus, if I was do you think this cat would so happily hang out with me?" I said, stroking Kurri.

"Good enough for me." Yoh exclaimed and Manta slightly relaxed. "Let's go." Slowly we all followed Yoh through the streets with Anna watching me closely from behind. I stared in shock at how huge Yoh's house was as we entered. It used to be a hotel.Greetings wereimmediately called to Yoh and us as he smiled happily and he made his way through the people. I stood still by the door, unsure of where to go.

"Who's this?" A voice called out as the owner made it's way towards me. It was "wooden sword" Ryu. I barely suppressed a giggle at his chopped off hair as he approached me. "What's a girl like you doing here?" He asked.

"I don't know, what are you doing here?" I replied. I looked up as Yoh called me over. "Excuse me." I said as I went around him.

Ryu's head hung low as his gang members watched sympathetically. "Rejected again…" One of them whispered.

I took the soda Yoh offered as I sat across from him and Horohoro, beside Manta who was having a fit. "What's he doing here? Horohoro, you just lost a fight to Yoh. Why are you celebrating!" I laughed and sipped my soda, aware of Anna's eyes still on my back as Horohoro and Yoh explained while joking happily.

Suddenly I spoke up. "Can I have a picture of everyone together? One big group shot?" I asked, holding up my camera.

"What for?" Manta asked.

"I'm keeping track of all the people I meet in my… travels." Eventually I got Yoh, Anna, Horohoro, Manta, Amidamaru, Horohoro's spirit ally, Ryu and all of his gang to agree and set up the camera on the table facing us. I hopped in the middle of the big group just as the flash went off and smiled gratefully as I put it away. "Thanks a lot!"

Slowly everyone scattered again and I plopped down in a random chair, holding my head. "You ok?" One of the men from Ryu's gang asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, just a headache."

The man sat down beside me. "Oh really? What from?"

"I got in a fight and tired myself out." I muttered as I rubbed Kurri soothingly.

"Why do you carry that cat around?" The man asked as he stroked the cat's back as well.

"I saved it." I replied darkly and from my face the man knew not to ask anymore about it.

Instead he said, "You're really pretty."

I blushed and looked down. "Thanks…" He reached an arm out hesitantly to embrace me but drew back sharply when I looked up at someone's cry. Ryu had been harassing Horohoro's spirit ally and Horohoro had hit him hard on the head with his snowboard. I stifled my laugh and turned back to the young man beside me with a bright red face. "You're pretty cute too. Sorry Ryu threw you off." He blinked in surprise that I knew he was trying to hug me and also from the fact that I had called him cute. Before I could back out I leaned forward and kissed him gently on the cheek, laughing at his surprise and trying to change my scarlet face back to normal. It was the first kiss ever that I had given willingly without being randomly attacked. The man cried out as I suddenly fell forward and caught me in his arms.

"What happened?" Yoh cried as he came quickly over to us.

"I don't know she just fell over!" The boy responded fearfully.

"It's alright, just be quiet for a second." I whispered as everyone watched me. _Kira?_ Akumei's voice sounded through my head. _What happened last time? I lost you halfway through the transportation!_

_Something hit me in the head…_

_Are you ok now?_

_Yeah, it was part of the ceiling or something but I'm fine now and ready to make it home._

_Ok, prepare yourself._

_Right. _I thought and reopened my eyes. "Time for me to go."

"What?" Asked the man who held me as he helped me back up.

"I was transported here from another world. It's time for me to leave this one. The goal is to make it back home to mine. I've been trying to reach it for the last week or more." Everyone jumped back as my hand flickered. "Back away so you don't get taken with me!" I cried as I held Kurri tightly. "Thanks for letting me come to this party." I smiled. "Maybe I'll see you again someday! Good luck in the tournament you two." I added to Yoh and Horohoro. "Bye!" I called as I totally disappeared.

"That was… weird." Manta muttered.

"A week of non stop moving?" Yoh asked incredulously.

* * *

Akumei lay back against the tree and sighed, closing his eyes. Suddenly they snapped open and he spoke in a whisper. "She's here..."

Inuyasha's sharp ears caught the words and he looked up. "What? Who?" He asked.

Akumei looked at him and shook his head. "Oh nothing, I'm imagining things."

"Well, how was Kira this time?" Kurama asked.

"She was perfectly fine but ready to come back. She did end up in a new world though because as I was transporting her last time something hit her head and knocked her out for a moment. She's fine now though." Akumei added quickly at Inuyasha's glare.


	22. Revisiting Trigun

* * *

As I fell to the ground I looked around expectantly but was caught off guard by a searing pain to my head. With a cry I clutched it tight with both heads and tried to hold back the tears. Below I could hear voices echoing my pain. _What's going on?_ I thought. I managed to get one eye open and saw Kurri looking up at me unaffected from my stomach. I was falling back first and kept it that way so Kurri wouldn't be injured when we hit ground.

Soon after I landed with a soft thump in the sand at the top of a cliff. The voices were coming from below and I managed to drag myself to the edge to look down while still holding my head. My eyes widened for a moment when I saw what lay below me.

Vash was there and so was Legato. They were on a part of the cliff that stuck out from the giant one I was on, Legato kneeling before Vash who held a gun to his head. People were around them, scattered across the ramp like part of rock that led up to Vash and Legato's ledge and all weresquirming and screaming in pain.

As I looked over the edge a few pebbles fell and Legato looked sharply up. His eyes widened for an instant and the pain in my head subsided. "What are you doing here?" I heard his voice echoing around my head. _I'm still trying to get back home!_ I thought in reply. _What are you doing?_ I saw Vash turn his head to look up as well but for some reason I pulled back at the last moment. "Don't be seen." Legato said to me. _What's wrong?_ I thought, growing afraid. The screams of the people were making me dizzy. The smell of fear was all around and I knew it was Legato's fault. I had seen this very scene in the anime Trigun that I used to watch at home.

"You're not supposed to take part in this. You should look away." As he said these words I felt my hand rising on its own to cover my eyes. _Stop!_ I thought. _You can't let him kill you!_ I heard Legato laugh in my mind and crawled slowly back to the edge. Using my free hand I pried my other away and looked down. Even as Legato transferred thoughts to my mind his lips were moving as he talked to Vash in a seperate conversation. "I'm not letting him, I'm making him." _But why?_ I thought as tears began to fall. Slowly my hand rose and wiped them away and I knew Legato was controlling me again. "Don't worry, it will be alright. Just promise you'll make it home ok and keep smiling." _How can I smile?_ I whimpered. "The last time I saw you, you were able to smile at me while surrounded by the bodies of the townspeople you knew I had killed. I know you'll manage this time too. Goodbye." _Legato, no!_ I shouted in my mind but it was too late.

I heard Vash's cry as the gunshot went off and my hands clamped to my mouth to hold in the scream but stayed even after Legato was gone. I fell over in shock, hands still covering my mouth and eyes wide in shock, my face slightly obscured by my hair. I lay there, unmoving for a long time.

I refused to look over the cliff edge, very afraid of what I might see and as I heard the voices of people below me growing faint I felt Kurri snuggling into my side. Finally I pulled a hand from my mouth and draped it softly over the black kitten. A few more hours passed and the hot sun rose straight overhead, stinging my skin but I didn't move. Visions of what might meet me if I looked below danced around my head.

Finally Akumei's voice sounded throughout my head just as darkness began to fall. _Kira… Are you crying?_

_He's dead…_

_Who's dead?_ Akumei cried out. _Did you hurt someone again?_

_No… It wasn't me but he's still gone and I couldn't help him. I can't bring him back!_

There was a long silence where I burst into tears and Akumei just listened quietly before finally speaking again. _Are you ready to bring yourself back?_

_Yes. I want to go home!_ I whimpered.

_Ok, picture me, your brother and everyone else here as clearly as you can. That should help. Are you ready?_

_Yes._ I replied and heard no more. Slowly I sat up and gathered Kurri into my arms. I stared at him and he at me before licking my cheek softly. "Are you ready Kurri?" I asked. "Ready to go home?" He gave a soft meow in reply and I smiled softly, remembering what Legato had said. "Well, I'm going to keep smiling." I decided as I disappeared from the sandy, barren world.

* * *

Akumei looked up sadly. "She was crying again. It seems someone died, though she had nothing to do with it this time. She couldn't help him, is what she said and she sounded really upset." 

"Is she coming back this time?" Inuyasha asked eagerly.

Akumei shrugged. "There's a very good chance she will so let's just hope so."


	23. Breif Reunion

* * *

As I fell towards the ground my eyes grew wide. _I know this place!_ I thought wildly, staring at the forest below. I sniffed the air and a grin spread across my face. _I smell Sesshoumaru!_ I held Kurri tightly as I slowed and drifted towards the treetops. I smelled a fire and saw the faint glow so I aimed myself at it. 

Landing lightly on a branch, I crouched and stared down. I saw the glow of his eyes as Sesshoumaru glared up suddenly and heard his cold voice mutter, "Who's there?"

The leaves rustled and parted as I dropped out of the tree and landed nimbly on the ground. With a teary smile I launched myself onto my oldest brother and buried my face into his chest, sobbing. "It's been so long!" I cried.

He stared at me for a moment before placing a hand around me. "What do you mean?"

"Lord Sesshoumaru, why are you letting her do that?" Shouted a voice from behind me. I slowly turned and lifted my head, staring at the little toad like man before me. He held a strange staff and glared angrily at me.

"Jaken, don't be rude." Sesshoumaru muttered. "What happened Kira?"

I wiped some tears away and looked up at him. "I've been gone for over a week, sent to another world."

"What are you talking about?" Sesshoumaru pressed.

"It was Naraku. He had Akumei send me away to an entirely different world so Inuyasha would suffer but they all surrounded him. Akumei managed to bring me back!" I finished happily, tears starting to flow again.

"So Inuyasha failed to protect you…" Sesshoumaru muttered.

"No! It wasn't his fault." I yelled. "It was my own for getting caught in the trap."

"Lord Sesshoumaru, what is going on?" Jaken asked, totally lost.

Sesshoumaru turned towards the fire, making me face that way as well. A little girl with long black hair looked up at me curiously and I wiped the tears completely away and smiled at her. "Rin, this is my little sister, Kira."

"Hello." I smiled and Rin smiled in return.

"What?" Jaken yelled. "Lord Sesshoumaru, I did not know you had a sister!"

Before anyone could reply a sudden wind sprang up and the fire blew out, leaving us in darkness. Rin screamed as everyone shielded their faces from the wind and Sesshoumaru crouched protectively beside her. I started to follow but something hit me in the back of the head. With a sudden grunt I reached towards Sesshoumaru before I passed out.

Sesshoumaru turned sharply as I clutched at his sleeve and turned in time to see me being carried away. "Kira!" He shouted but I had already been lifted high into the air and taken away. He clenched his fist as he glared after us. "Jaken, watch Rin." He ordered before leaping after us through the forest.

* * *

Back with the others, Akumei leapt to his feet. "She's back!" He cried. 

"What?" Screamed Inuyasha, leaping up as well. "Where is she then?"

"She was talking to someone named Sesshoumaru and then she blacked out. I think something took her again!"

Inuyasha clenched his fist. "Naraku…" He looked up. "Where was she?"

"In a forest. I'll take you there." Akumei offered before running off. Inuyasha followed with the whole rest of the group hot on his heels.

* * *

I groaned and tried to lift a hand to my aching head only to find them tied behind my back. "W-what's going on?" I wondered aloud. 

I jumped as someone answered. "Ah, so she awakens." It was a cold voice, one that sent shivers down my spine and made the hair on my tail stand on end.

"Naraku…" I growled.

"So you remember me." He said. He was no longer in his baboon costume and instead just wore robes. His hair was long and black and his face was in a constant smirk.

"Let me go!" I cried angrily as I struggled with the ropes around my wrists. I screamed as my entire body was shocked and slumped forward, head low.

Naraku laughed coldly. "No more escaping for you. You'll complete your punishment this time. I knew I couldn't depend on that fool to do this for me. This time you will die at my hands. It will be a private show for your brothers who are both on their way."

"You freak!" I screamed wincing as I was shocked again. "You'll pay for this!" I cried through the pain. "They'll come and kill you!"

Naraku just smirked at me and snapped his fingers. The shock intensified and I couldn't take the pain. I collapsed to the side and lay still as Naraku surveyed my body. "Such a waste." He muttered.

* * *

Akumei barged through the woods and into the camp where Rin and Jaken still sat. Jaken yelled in fright as Inuyasha grabbed him up. "Have you seen a girl around here?" He screamed. "She was with Sesshoumaru!" Jaken just glared fearfully at him so Inuyasha tossed him aside. 

Akumei walked over to him with a frightened Kurri in his arms. "This is the kitten that Kira brought back with her." He said.

Inuyasha nodded, jumping as Rin pulled at his pants. "Do you know Lord Sesshoumaru?" She asked. "And that girl?" Inuyasha nodded and she continued. "Someone took the girl and Lord Sesshoumaru ran after her that way." She said pointing.

"Thanks." Inuyasha grunted as he went the way she pointed. Quickly everyone else followed as well.

* * *

Sesshoumaru stopped for a moment to sniff the air. He walked slowly forward with his hand outstretched. It hit the barrier and was lightly shocked. "I know she's in there…" He muttered. 

"Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha screamed as he burst from the woods. "Where is she?"

Sesshoumaru glared at him. "You didn't protect her and allowed her to be taken."

"That's not important now!" Inuyasha screamed as he drew the Tetsuseiga and pointed it at the barrier. "Wind scar!" He yelled as he swung the blade. The attack hit the barrier but nothing happened. Suddenly it disappeared and everyone stared at it warily.

"It's a trap…" Miroku muttered. "He wants us to enter."

"I don't care!" Screamed Inuyasha as he ran in after Sesshoumaru who had already entered. Akumei darted through as well but the others weren't as lucky. The shield closed up again just before they ran in.

Hiei pounded on the barrier in frustration as the others tried various attacks. Sango stared at the ground in frustrated defeat. "It's useless. We've tried everything before."

"But Inuyasha…" Kagome whimpered.

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru ran straight forward without stopping while Akumei lagged cautiously a great deal behind. The brothers ran right up to a castle and busted through the door. They froze at what greeted them. Naraku smirked as he held my neck in his hand while I was still unconscious. "Are you looking for someone?" He asked.

"Give her back!" Inuyasha screamed but Naraku just laughed. With a growl he leapt forward, bouncing back off Naraku's shield.

Slowly my eyes fluttered open and I looked around. "Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha?" I whispered weakly.

Naraku looked down at me. "Ah, now the fun can begin." He took my face roughly in his hand and looked towards my brothers. "Now what can I do that will cause the most pain to all three of you?" He asked evilly.

"Don't touch her!" Sesshoumaru snarled but Naraku ignored him.

"I know…" He decided and lifted my face towards his. My eyes widened as I saw what he was doing and my brothers charged forward with cries of rage. Just before our lips met, I made a neon green bolt leap from my cheek onto Naraku's. With a cry he released me, letting me crumple to the floor as he held his face.

While he was distracted I made the green shield around myself and wrestled with the ropes, which bound me. After a few seconds I got my hands free and moved to my feet. I clawed and bit at the ropes and soon I was totally free. "Kagura!" Naraku screamed and the woman emerged from the shadows, swinging her fan towards my back. Caught off guard I screamed as the wind blades pierced my back and turned to face her. When I did Naraku got a hold of me from behind again. He held his hand near my mouth and I flinched as purple mist rose from it.

"Don't breathe it in!" Inuyasha shouted. "It's his poison miasma!"

My eyes grew wide as I held my breath and made a shield around my body again. Wrenching one of my hands from his grasp, I fired an energy blast into his shield but nothing happened. Naraku took my arm in his hand and twisted it hard, causing me to focus more on the pain than my shield so it flickered into nothing. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha started relentless attacks against the shield once again but nothing was changing. Naraku took his time with causing me pain. His poison hand moved slowly closer to my face and I flinched back away from it. "After I finish you I'll kill off your brothers and next all your stupid friends." Naraku promised.

My eyes swirled red and I glared at him, ignoring my pain. "No you will not!" I shouted and twisted around, clawing him with my free hand. I leapt up and away to start pounding and striking the shield walls with my sword but nothing happened.

"You're getting on my nerves." Naraku said. "I think I'll finish you now!" He thrust his hand towards me but I leapt away, causing him to hit his shield. The wall flickered where he touched and I quickly hit the same spot. It seemed to weaken but I had to move again to avoid another attack.

With a snarl I swung my fist at him, causing him to stumble back to get out of the way. I ran over to the weakened section to find a hand sticking through. I looked up to find that it belonged to Akumei. I took it and he pulled me swiftly through, leading me quickly away. "Inuyasha! Sesshoumaru!" I called, showing them I was away. They started after us but we were already through the outside barrier. Instead of waiting, Akumei kept pulling me after him and deeper into the woods. "How will they get out?" I asked.

"Don't worry, I left a huge hole in his barrier." Akumei assured me. After several minutes we finally stopped again and plopped down against some trees. Akumei crossed over to me. "Are you ok? Your back is bleeding."

I looked up at him with tears falling again. "Why is he so against us?" I cried.

"Shh, it's ok." Akumei pulled me close into a comforting hug and I just cried into him.

Finally I pulled away and smiled up at him through my tears. "Thanks for getting me back."

Akumei smiled as well. "It was my pleasure. I hate myself for sending you away in the first place. Oh, and I have something of yours." He lifted Kurri from his shoulder and handed him to me.

I gratefully took him and stared innocently up at Akumei. He smiled back, staggering into a tree as my fist collided with his face. "What the hell?" He screamed at me but stopped suddenly when I threw myself on him and cried again.

"How could you make me go through all of that?" I sobbed and he didn't respond for a while.

After a moment he finally replied. "I'm sorry. I won't let it happen again." He placed an arm around me and leaned back, waiting for me to calm down and for the rest of the group to finally catch up.

A few minutes later the huge group stumbled into the woods and found us still sitting against the tree. I was sitting on my kneesin betweenAkumei's legs with my arms around his waist , slumped forward with my face in his chest.He sat unmoving and allowing it, arms limp at his sides. Inuyasha opened his mouth to scream at Akumei for having me so close but Akumei just pinched his fingers together and Inuyasha's mouth closed with a snap. "Quiet, she's asleep." He ordered.

Inuyasha glared hatefully at him until Akumei undid the spell so he could speak again. Inuyasha crouched beside us, moving my hair lightly aside. "She's been crying…"

Kagome crouched beside Inuyasha and stared at Akumei. "Why's your face all red?" She asked.

Akumei laughed nervously and touched his cheek. "She hit me."

"And I'm not sorry either." I muttered, smiling up from his chest. Their voices had woken me. I jumped up and launched myself onto Inuyasha. "I missed you so much!" I cried, fighting to keep the tears back again.

Inuyasha embraced me warmly back. "I missed you too." He paused and held me at arms length in front of him. "You smell like blood. Are you hurt?"

I backed slightly away and looked down. "I'm fine Inuyasha…"

"Don't lie." Everyone looked up to see Sesshoumaru emerge from the shadows. He had been watching from the edge of the trees and we had forgotten he was there.

With a joyful shriek I leapt on him, hugging him around the waist and grinning widely. He wrapped his arm around me and smiled softly before glaring around at everyone. "She's staying with me from now on."

"What?" Everyone screamed but I was the loudest.

Sesshoumaru stared down at me in surprise. "Don't tell me you want to stay with them even after all of this?"

"I can't just leave them…" I muttered. "I'm sorry… I'll spend today with you! Who was that little girl back from when I fell down?"

Without a word Sesshoumaru took my hand and led me through the woods away from the others. Inuyasha drew the Tetsusaiga and screamed at him but I motioned for him to stop. "I'll find you guys tomorrow, ok?" I called as I disappeared into the darkness of the woods.

Soon we approached the scent of a burning fire and entered the clearing where I had come back into this world. "Lord Sesshoumaru!" Rin cried gleefully before standing and bowing. I giggled at her actions and she stared at me uncertainly as did Jaken.

"It's alright." Sesshoumaru muttered before sitting by the fire. He motioned for me to come beside him so I obeyed. Kurri settled down in my lap and Sesshoumaru stared at him. "You're a wolf, why do you have that?"

I laughed. "I saved it. While in another world I came across some demons. They had killed a little girl and I killed them all. Then I found this kitten curled by the girl's body so I brought it with me."

"You're a wolf?" Jaken exclaimed. "Then how are you related?"

When Sesshoumaru didn't reply I did instead. "We have different mothers." I watched, highly amused, as Jaken almost fell over from shock. I felt something tugging at my sleeve and saw Rin beside me.

"What kind of clothes are these?" She asked curiously.

I laughed. "Well, I've been doing a lot of traveling lately and I brought these back with me." I explained simply.

"Oh…" Rin said with a smile.

I yawned suddenly and turned towards Sesshoumaru. "Yeah, I really have been doing a lot of traveling. I'm going to sleep now, ok?" He nodded so I hugged him lightly before walking a bit away and curling up at the base of a tree. Within seconds I was out cold and Sesshoumaru and the others watched me quietly.

"Are you sure it's ok to be that friendly with her Lord Sesshoumaru?" Jaken inquired but flinched at Sesshoumaru's glare. "I'm sorry Lord!" He cried in alarm. "It's ok, she seems very nice!" He cowered back until sure that Sesshoumaru wouldn't hit him before finally calming. Rin had already fallen asleep, resting against Sesshoumaru's side and he remained motionless to not disturb her.

I was woken up to the feel of teeth biting into my ear. "Ow!" I yelled, sitting up sharply and causing Kurri to slide from my head. "Why'd you bite me?" I stared curiously as Kurri slipped around behind me and stood hissing at Sesshoumaru who was trying to come to me. I laughed. "He doesn't like you Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru glared at the kitten before speaking to me. "Is your back still hurting?"

I picked up Kurri and cuddled with him for a moment until he was calm again. Then I replied to Sesshoumaru. "It wasn't but now that you said something it is…" I laughed as I placed a hand on my shoulder. Soon green sparks leapt from my hand and Sesshoumaru stepped back. "Don't worry, I have control now." I assured him quietly as the wounds began to heal. "There, all done!" I smiled once all was sealed up again.

"What else can you do?" Sesshoumaru asked as Rin stirred and came slowly towards us.

"Good morning." I greeted her before holding out my hand. A small green ball appeared in it and Rin slowly took it. I laughed at her hesitation before making another and tossing it at Sesshoumaru.

He turned it over in his hands a few times. "What's the point of this?"

I laughed and made another. "Watch." I ordered. I tossed it into the sky and blinked. As soon as my eyes closed the ball exploded in a flash of green light and sparks showered down on us. "That's one of the things you can do with it." I said proudly. Suddenly I froze and clamped my hands over my ears. _Are you there?_ A voice asked gruffly in my head. It was Hiei.

_Yes… Why are you so mean? I just got back!_ I whimpered in reply.

_Never mind that. The tournament is coming up and you've been skipping out on training!_

_No I haven't! Do you have any idea what I've been through? I need some time to recover!_

_You just got it last night. Now it's back to work. If you don't leave to find us right now, I'm going to come and get you._

_Ok… I'll be there sometime today._ I muttered and heard him no more. I looked up at Sesshoumaru grumpily. "They want me to come back now. They don't believe I've trained enough to be ready for this tournament."

"You can't, I won't allow it." He growled.

"It can't be helped. If I don't go on my own they'll come and get me themselves." I explained. "So I guess I'll see you later…" I whispered as I gave him another hug. "Bye Rin!" I said with a smile towards the young girl. She smiled back as I gathered Kurri into my arms and started walking.

* * *

After a couple hours of finding the scents on and off, I finally found a familiar one that stayed with me. Following it for a few more minutes, I found myself at the edge of a cliff. Looking around puzzled I sat on the edge with my legs hanging over and stared around. I jumped as someone plopped beside me and turned to see Kouga. "Don't do that!" I yelled at him. 

He laughed. "Sorry. What are you doing out here alone?"

"Looking for Inuyasha." I replied. "But I found your scent first so I came this way.

"You came to me over him?" Kouga asked, wide eyed.

"That's not what I said! His scent kept disappearing but yours stayed strong…"

Kouga peered over me at what I was holding. "What's with the cat?"

"I saved it." I replied, stroking Kurri's ears fondly. I jumped as Kouga's arm wrapped around me. "What are you-"

"You smell nice…" Kouga interrupted, laying his head on my shoulder.

"Uh…" I blushed bright red and tensed under his touch. "Thanks but I have to go now before they come looking for me."

"Who?"

"Inuyasha and the others!" I cried, climbing to my feet. "I'm sorry. I'll see you again soon ok?" I asked with a smile. Kouga nodded as I disappeared into the woods. Pausing to sniff the air I finally caught Inuyasha's scent and was able to keep it long enough to find him. "Hey!" I called. "Did you miss me?"

Everyone turned at the sound of my voice and rushed over to me. Immediately I leapt on Inuyasha and then Kagome, Shippou, Sango and even Miroku who for once didn't try anything. Following that I hugged Yusuke, Kurama and Kuwabara though Hiei wouldn't let me go near him. I watched him sadly as he backed away so I'd know not to try anything. "I missed you guys so much!" I exclaimed happily, trying to ignore it.

"Hey…" Inuyasha walked over and sniffed me lightly. "You smell like Kouga!" He yelled, pointing an accusing finger.

"Well I saw him on the way here and said hi…" I muttered. "Is there anyway I can go visit my human family today?"

"I suppose that should be ok." Kurama said.

"Yay!" I exclaimed happily. "Can we go now?"

"What?" Inuyasha practically screamed. "You're not leaving now!"

"But I miss them…" I whimpered, eyes swirling blue.

"It's ok Inuyasha. I have to go visit my family a lot too and I always come back." Kagome assured him.

"See?" I laughed. "Thanks Kagome! Let's go." I said, pulling on Yusuke's arm. He was the one who wore the watch after all. Edged by my eagerness, Kurama, Kuwabara, Hiei and I all gathered around Yusuke, each holding his arm in a different place. In a flash we were gone, leaving the others to stare after us.


	24. Returning Home

* * *

We reappeared by the well and all linked hands to jump through. We climbed out and I ran to my yard and I straight to the door. My mom answered and I hugged her tightly. "I've been homesick." I muttered to her shocked face. "What's today's date?" 

"July twenty eighth." She responded slowly.

"Really? Then isn't the concert tonight?" I exclaimed. When she didn't reply right away I continued. "Is dad home?"

At the mention of him my dad popped from around a corner. "Yes?" He asked.

"Dad, is there the concert tonight?" I questioned.

"Oh, you're still planning on going?" He asked. At my shocked face he burst out laughing. "Yes, I have four tickets. Want to call a friend?"

"Yes!" I cried before running into the house. Dialing Alison's number into the phone I called her and came back beaming. "We're going to pick her up and all go tonight." I smiled.

"What are you talking about?" Hiei asked.

"A concert." I replied. "I'm going and you can't keep me from it!"

"Want to bet?" Hiei smirked.

"Please don't. I really want to go! After I'll start training again." I whimpered and slowly Hiei backed off again. I turned towards my dad. "It's still early. Can we go get this film developed? I've been through a lot lately and took a lot of pictures."

"Later." My dad said before going back inside.

I followed him and sat in front of the computer. I went straight to my website and started typing up an entry:

_Hey everyone! Miss me? Or maybe you're glad this crazy psycho girl is gone? Well too bad because I'm back again! Mwahaha! Hehe, at least for tonight. I'm back from Japan to go to a concert with my dad, brother and my friend Alison. It's gonna be awesome! Nickelback, Puddle of Mudd and 3 Doors Down. I can't wait! We're going to pick up my friend and then head over there soon. Oh, and when I get a chance I'll start a story that will say everything I've done since the night that the two men came into my room and saved my life. Would you like that? Of course you would! And the cool part is that it will all be one hundred percent true and accurate. Whoo! Hehe, and I took a lot of pictures too. I'll post one a day as soon as I get them developed, ok? If I have time that is. So… I'll cya later!_

I hit the update button and went into the playroom to bug my brothers and sister but was immediately tackled by Jack. After several hours spent taking a shower, changing and doing nothing, I found my mom and gave her Kurri to watch over while I was gone. "Thanks." I said as I went out the door after my dad and brother.

I jumped as someone caught my arm and turned to see Hiei. "What are you doing?" I asked. "You're going to make me late!"

"I'm having second thoughts…" He muttered. "How will people react to you?"

"They'll think I'm a crazy fan girl." I teased. "But now that we're here I'm not missing it. I haven't done anything normal in months! I should get at least this one day break." He nodded and released me so I could hurry and jump into the car.

"She's right." Kurama said as he, Yusuke and Kuwabara came up behind Hiei. "She's been through much for a teenage girl and she's handled it all quite well. It is time she had a break to do something normal." With a soft grunt Hiei walked away slowly.

* * *

Meanwhile, we had just arrived at Alison's house. I jumped out of the car and Nick got in the front as I went to her door. She ran out and we both jumped into the back. The entire ride was spent with me explaining to Alison why I looked so different and where I had been the past few months. In almost an hour we made it to the place and found it totally packed with cars. Before concert music was playing as we all downed sodas quickly before walking in with towels in hand. It had been raining so the ground was still very wet and we had grass seats. 

As I walked through the crowds to stand in line, I could feel many stares boring into my back but tried my best to ignore it. We made it inside and Alison and I immediately started looking at the concert t shirts. Not getting anything yet we followed my dad up the stairs to the grass where we found an empty patch and laid our towels down to save it.

After several minutes of waiting Alison said she was hungry so Nick and me followed her back down the stairs where she got a pretzel. They had closed off the way we had come from so we ended up having to go all the way to the other side of the place and then coming all the way back. As I was walking I felt someone pull my tail and turned to glare at a boy around my own age. "Back off!" I yelled at him and he threw his hands up and backed away. With one last glare at him I went with Alison and Nick to where my dad sat waiting.

Puddle of Mudd had started playing while we were gone so we just caught the last couple songs. We laughed as they played She Hates Me and got the crowd to sing along loudly. Shortly after they stopped and the band left the stage. We waited for over twenty minutes for Nickelback to take the stage before standing up to cheer again. They were awesome! It was growing dark so they had flames and fireworks shooting off. They played Hero, which is the theme to Spiderman as well as a song from Metallica. The final song, Figured You Out, played and everyone sang along and cheered wildly as they left the stage. Several minutes later 3 Doors Down set up and came out and everyone started screaming. They played many songs but during Here Without You everyone got out their lighters and started waving them because it was a war song. It looked really cool in the dark though.

Finally they finished and we all started to leave. Alison and I bought t shirts on the way out. Mine was Nickelback and hers was 3 Doors Down.

Eventually we made it through the crowds of drunken people and back to the car. The drive home was spent listening to my Nickelback CD though it sounded weird because we had just seen them live. We made it back to Alison's house and dropped her off before heading back to our own. I took a quick shower to get ride of the smell of cigarettes that was making me sick and dove into my bed for the first time in weeks.

"Get up!" I was woken up the next morning to a sudden prodding in my side and a harsh voice.

I groaned and rolled over, snuggling into the blankets. "Just a bit longer…" I sighed. I jumped as someone grabbed my shoulder and rolled me back over to face him. It was Hiei, glaring at me.

"You've skipped enough training, time to start up again!" He yelled.

"But I…" My voice faltered under his sharp glare and I muttered to myself as I got up and he left while I changed. I emerged from my room, coming face to face with him and he took my by the wrist and pulled me down the stairs. "Wait!" I yelled as I pulled away. "Are we going back to Japan already?" Hiei nodded. "Can I at least say goodbye first?" I muttered and he nodded again." Quickly I spread through the house, seeking out each member of the family and wishing them well before leaving. I asked my dad to develop my film as a last thing before I grabbed up my camera and sword and followed Hiei out the door. Yusuke and the others were waiting outside already.

Kuwabara snickered at my bed tossed hair but quickly stopped when I glared at him, still half asleep. I jumped when something leapt onto my back but smiled when I realized it was just Kurri. "Hey there." I whispered to him as I brought him around to rest in my arms. I turned towards the others. "Ok, I guess I'm ready." I said reluctantly.

Yusuke smirked and held out his arm as we all took a hold and typed in the coordinates. A swirling wind enveloped us and we disappeared from sight.

* * *

Landing softly in Yusuke's yard, Hiei took my wrist and immediately started pulling me in the direction of the woods where we trained. Kurama chuckled as Yusuke and Kuwabara joked about us. 

"Why are you being so mean?" I whimpered as Hiei still pulled me roughly forward. Instead of answering, he just picked up the pace so we were moving too fast for the humans in the park to see us as we sped past. A couple minutes later and we were deep in the forest.

Hiei finally decided to let me go and I stumbled back away from him, rubbing my wrist, which had a red handprint around it. "Look what you did!" I yelled at him but he just glared.

"Draw your sword." He ordered, taking out his own.

Setting Kurri down away from the action, I unsheathed my blade and faced Hiei. Without warning he charged forward and my eyes widened in surprise at the metalic clank that sounded. He sprang away and then came at me again, nicking my arm with his blade. I yelped but before I could recover he came at me again, resting the blade against my neck. "You just lost your head." He muttered.

I stumbled back, resting against a tree. "What's your problem?" I screamed at him.

"These demons are going to be strong, don't let yourself be unprepared!" He spat back as he charged again.

Our blades clashed and I shot my hand out, catching his wrist and twisting it so he'd drop his sword. I held mine pressed against his side and yelled at him, "What is wrong with you today?" Instead of replying he took a swing at me but I dropped my sword as well and caught his hand again. "I asked you a question!" I snarled.

"I thought you were gone…" He muttered.

I released him in surprise. "What?"

"When he sent you away, I thought you weren't coming back! You were weak enough to let him send you away and jeopardize our entire mission!"

I was momentarily caught off guard but quickly recovered. "Is that all you care about? That stupid tournament? They haven't even taken someone you care about and it's still all that matters? Yusuke and Kuwabara have good excuses to be worried, you just want to brag about how strong you are!" Tears sprang to my eyes and I sank down were I sat, silently crying.

Hiei stared at me in surprise for a moment before crouching in front. I didn't look up at him so he went to my side and gently bandaged my cut arm instead. "I'm sorry." He muttered.

"I tried to fight him, Akumei." I whispered. "I tried to escape but he locked my spirit energy inside so I couldn't get to it. You saw me after I transformed too. It's not like I went along with it… It was so scary, going into all those different places and not knowing anyone or what would happen next. I always came at the worst times too. The last thing I saw was someone killed right in front of me and I couldn't do anything! He saved my life when I was too weak to even move and I just sat there and let him die!"

Hiei watched me quietly as I sat there crying and whispering to myself. Hesitantly he placed a hand on my cheek and lifted my face up. "It's ok, I'm sure it wasn't your fault." He assured me.

"But he shot him right in the face and I watched it all!" My eyes widened at the memory and I burst into a new wave of tears and clung to Hiei, crying into him. At first he began to shove me off but instead thought better of it, seeing how distressed I was. Hesitantly he placed his arms around me and tried to help me calm down. After a few minutes I pulled away and turned to my side, my face red. "I'm sorry…" I whispered.

"It's ok." Hiei muttered. "Do you want to get started again?"

I nodded and picked up my sword as he did his and we ran at each other again. This time he went easier on me, it was very obvious but I was a little out of practice so I didn't mind. After a few more hours, Kurama showed up asking us to come back.

He came to my side and looked me over. "You're hurt." He said sympathetically.

I laughed slightly. "It's fine. Part of training is learning to take a hit."

Kurama smiled and took me by the hand, leading us back. Hiei started to follow, jumping as something leapt on his shoulder. It was Kurri, snuggling against him. With a slight smirk, Hiei took Kurri in his arms and followed us slowly.

"Kira!" I was smothered by Botan's hugs as I approached the house. It had been several weeks since I had last seen Botan and she had apparently become very nervous. "It's been so long, I'm glad you're ok!"

I laughed. "It's good to see you too Botan." I smiled before she led me inside. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Botan, Hiei and me all ate a quick lunch before I followed Kurama back to the woods for some training on using my spirit energy. I showed him how I had learned to make the full body shield and how I could use it to float into the sky.

"Very good." He laughed. "Have you applied it to a fight yet?"

I nodded triumphantly. "Yep, and I won!" I smiled happily.

Kurama nodded. "Well, are you ready to train?" I nodded and the battle started with Kurama using his rose whip against my spirit sword. We worked on my ability to make an instant shield that would appear as soon as I needed it and fade away right when I was done so I could attack quickly. After a while it became dark and Kurama smiled. "Let's call it a day?" He asked and I nodded as well before letting my sword disappear.

"Am I doing good?" I asked.

"Exceptionally well." He replied.

"Well enough to last in the tournament by myself?"

Kurama paused and smiled down at me. "No, but you're getting there. I can guarantee that you'll be ready by the time it starts."

"Ok." I replied happily as we walked back to the house.

The following several weeks passed by quickly with my training switching between sessions with Kurama and Kuwabara, Hiei, and Yusuke every few days. Basically I woke up, went out to train, had a snack, went to train, had dinner, went to train, and got a few hours of sleep before having to wake up and start it all over again.

One day I was checking my email when I got one from my mom saying school was starting on the twelfth of August. I checked a calendar and found that it was already August eighth. At lunch I brought it up when it was just me and Kurama in the room. "Hey Kurama?" I began.

"Yes?" He asked, looking up.

"Is there any way I could maybe go to at least my first day of school?" Before he could interrupt I continued. "I mean, I'd wear and hat and everything but I miss my friends and everyone back home."

Kurama stared at me for a moment before smiling. "I think it'd be ok. You shouldn't try to hide it though but instead let them see the real you. I don't think they'd mind."

"Really?" I cried. Kurama nodded and I grinned widely. "Thank you!" I squealed as I hugged him. "When can we leave?"

"How about right now? You need a chance to get ready." Kurama suggested.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed but then paused. "What will the others say?"

"About what?" Yusuke asked. He had walked in the door as soon as I said that.

I remained silent so Kurama answered for me. "Her school starts in a few days and she wants to go to the first day to see her friends."

"What about her training?" Hiei muttered.

"There are woods in her backyard." Kurama replied.

"I guess its ok…" Yusuke said.

"Thank you!" I smiled. "Let's go now! No wait, I'll go pack first!" I added as I ran to get my things.

"She's pretty enthusiastic for someone returning to school." Yusuke laughed.

"Well she really just wants to see her friends. She hasn't in a long time you know." Kurama corrected.

I came back into the room with Kurri on my shoulder,a laptop under one arm, my sword strapped on my waist, my camera around my neck and my bag in another hand. "I'm ready!" I announced. "Who's coming?"

"Let's find out." Yusuke said as he set his watch. I grabbed his arm as well as Kurama, Kuwabara, Hiei and Botan. Yusuke pressed a button and in a sudden gust of wind, we were lifted from the room and set down in my yard. I ran inside with the others following slowly behind me.

It turned out that my dad was at work and Nick, Will and Megan all at school so it was just mom and Jack at home.

When the group walked in the room my mom was already talking. "Let's get you clothes for school and your permit! You haven't gotten that yet."

"Ok…" I replied hesitantly.

They parted as my mom pulled me and Jack past and out the door. "Bye guys, I guess I'm going shopping." I managed to say as I went by.

First me and my mom went shopping and I got several pairs of pants since all my others were way too big for me. I got a few shirts as well. Finally Jack got really impatient and we left there and went down to the DMV to get my permit. We waited almost an hour in line and I kept getting very strange stares until it was my turn. I went up to the desk with mom and had to test my eyesight and identify signs by their shape. Then I started the test. They sat me down in front of a big touch screen computer and the first question came up. I chose my answer and I told me I was right. Next one I chose wrong. I didn't get through many when it flashed big that I had failed. I stared at it in shock for a moment before rising and standing in a new line until called to a desk again. I got my papers and hurried out the door with my mom behind me, wondering how I did.

Once outside I couldn't hold it in anymore and started crying. "I failed!" I cried as I climbed into the car, tears streaming down. The phone rang and it was my dad asking me to have lunch with him at work and ready to celebrate. I could barely even get words out as I tried to hide that I was crying and gave the phone back to my mom. She told him I had failed and was really upset so we couldn't come by. Jack got really upset and threw a fit as we rode back home.

We pulled into the driveway and everyone greeted me, ready with congratulations but I quickly pushed past and ran into the house. I darted up the stairs and into my room, locking the door and throwing myself down on my bed, crying into my pillow.

My mom told everyone what had happened before coming inside with Jack. They all decided it was best to give me some time alone.


	25. Back to School

* * *

Several hours later it had grown dark and I still hadn't left my room. I was just sitting on my bed as if in a trance with a pair of headphones perchedon top of my head. Kurri jumped up in fright from hisspot snuggling into my sidewhen Hiei popped in out of nowhere. "So how long are you going to mourn?" He asked, smirking. 

"Shut up." I muttered, totally out of it.

Without hesitation he drew his sword and swung at my head. I stuck out a hand and caught the blade in my claws, eyes still staring straight ahead. "I'm not in the mood." I growled. The movement caused the headphones to fall off but I didn't replace them.

Hiei put away the blade and sat down beside me. "You can't stay here forever. Tons of people can't pass on their first try. Did you even study?" I shook my head and he went on. "Then study tomorrow and go again in the afternoon."

Slowly I looked over at him and smiled. "You're right. Thanks… I'm going to sleep now." I added, pulling the covers over myself.

Hiei nodded and left the room as I settled down and quickly passed out.

The next morning I took his advice and my mom found a website with questions so she could quiz me on everything. Then we went to a different DMV this time and I passed, only missing two questions. They took my picture and I came out beaming with a brand new permit in hand.

When we got back to the house the others saw my face and immediately knew to congratulate me this time. Though if I smiled at Hiei he'd act like he didn't notice but Kurama quickly caught on and teased him lightly.

Once again my happy self, I went to the woods in my backyard with Kurama and Kuwabara to train though first we had to clear out a ring to practice in. Once done we worked on fairly basic stuff for several hours.

Later Yusuke came by and he took over while Kurama and Kuwabara took a break. More time passed as Hiei showed up just as it was getting dark. "Ready?" He asked me as Yusuke started to leave.

Slightly panting I nodded and we went straight into the sword fight. Around midnight I sat down where I stood and Hiei froze to stare at me. "Are you tired?"

I nodded. "I've gone all day with no breaks and school starts in only three days!"

"School doesn't have anything to do with it and what about that time you went straight for over a week?" Hiei pointed out.

"I had good motivation that time. When I got it down I was going to ask to visit Inuyasha." I explained.

Hiei simply nodded and held his sword out, pointed at me. "Well, get ready."

With a soft sigh I climbed to my feet and held out my sword as well and we went at each other again.

The moon was full and shining above us and I paused to stare at it, my eyes turning silver but Hiei quickly poked me in the side. I glared over at him, my eyes green again. "What was that for?" I growled.

"Last time you stared at the full moon like that you transformed into a wolf and went crazy." He explained.

"Oh, right…" I muttered as I chanced another quick glance at it before standing again with my sword in hand. Hiei saw I was ready and the training resumed.

Around two in the morning we finally made our way wearily to my house. Without a word I went inside, up the stairs and collapsed in my bed, falling asleep immediately.

I was awoken by a hard prodding in my side at about 5 in the morning. Groaning and rolling over with eyes still closed I whimpered, "Kurama, it's so early. Why are we doing this?"

Kurama laughed lightly. "You're about to start school so your training time will be considerably shortened. We have to get a lot done now and we only have today. Tomorrow you start school again."

With a soft moan I rolled over, falling on the floor and landing on my knees. Kurama pulled me to my feet, laughing, and helped me out the door. We went down the stairs and outside quietly to not disturb anyone else. Slowly I followed Kurama to the forest but was greeted by an unwanted surprise. As soon as I set foot into the edge of the forest, a bucket of ice cold water poured down over me. Still half asleep, my eyes jolted open and I screamed loudly in shock. With a growl I leapt up, landing a hard kick to the one in the tree above. Yusuke went tumbling out of it backwards, hitting the ground hard.

"Ouch…" He muttered, rubbing his head.

With blazing eyes I glared at him before changing swiftly into a wolf and walking towards him. Suddenly I froze and shook all over, flinging water from my soaked coat all over him. Once done I changed back, smirked at him, and entered the forest. Kurama laughed at Yusuke's dripping face of shock and disgust before following after me.

From then on the day followed almost the same as yesterday, though Hiei let me return at midnight instead of at two like before.

I gratefully returned and climbed into my bed, growing very nervous about how people would receive me at school the next day if I didn't try to hide anything.

I awoke the next morning to a hard prodding in my side. With a soft groan I rolled over and pulled the sheets over my head only to have them yanked back suddenly. "Hey!" I muttered, still half asleep as I rolled over.

"It's time to get up." Kurama said a soft smile on his face.

"How can you be awake…? What time is it?" I asked.

"It's six in the morning." He replied simply.

"School doesn't start until seven twenty-five!" I moaned, trying to pull the covers up again but Kurama held them firmly down. "Alright already…" I growled as I sat up slowly, slinging my legs over the side of the bed. I blew upwards as my hair hung in my face and Kurama laughed.

"You're not a morning person are you?" He teased. I replied with a sharp glare. "Well, get ready and come down." Kurama ordered gentlyas he left the room.

With a soft sigh, my feet lowered to the ground and I staggered upright, going to the mirror. I pulled on a shirt and some cargo pants before running a brush through my long hair a couple times. I stared at my reflection as the two large wolf ears twitched a few times by themselves and the tail swished back and forth behind me. "Like that's not noticeable…" I muttered to myself as I left my room, closing the door behind me.

"Boo!" Yusuke screamed, leaping from around the corner as I walked down the hall.

"Shut it, I'm tired." I yawned.

"Aw, come on. You're no fun in the mornings!" He whined.

I paused and stared at him. "Wait, what are you doing up this early?"

"Well, we're pretty much the same age so I figured I could go to school with you until it starts to make sure everything works out fine."

"Maybe you should just enroll there!" I teased.

Yusuke backed away as if in shock. "What? Me in an American school? I don't even speak English!"

I laughed as his reaction. "Well that's what the thing in your ear is for."

"But they said you couldn't see it!" Yusuke muttered, clamping a hand over his ear.

I couldn't help laughing again. "Ha, I'm just kidding. You can't see it."

"Then how'd you…?"

"I'm speaking in English right now and since you responded I know you're wearing it."

"Oh…" Yusuke said as I followed him down the stairs.

The others were all waiting around, my mom totally ignoring them. She was used to it already. "Here you go." She said as she handed me my lunch. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah…" I nodded as I put the paper bag in my back pack and put it on.

_Are you really sure? _I heard Hiei's voice in my head. _You know how they might react._

_Yes, I do but you never know who your true friends are until you let them know you're a demon, right? If they don't except me I won't go back._ I thought back with a slight smile.

"Do you need me to drive you there?" My mom asked.

"No, we're walking." Yusuke announced.

"What? Who decided that?" I asked.

"I did, just now." Yusuke replied. "You know the way right?" I nodded. "Then there's no problem!"

"Well then let's get started…" I muttered before looking up and grinning at everyone. "Bye. I'll see ya'll around three I guess… Wait, am I walking home too?"

"One of us will come to pick you up." Kurama assured me.

"Ok…" I said as I headed towards the door, the entire group following me. "See you later!" I left through the door, pausing at the base of the steps to hear what Kurama was telling Yusuke. "If there's any sign of trouble take her out of there. There's no reason to make a huge scene, just get her back here."

"Will do." Yusuke whispered as he walked up beside me. "Let's go." He said aloud and I nodded as we started off.

Hiei walked to stand beside Kurama as we reached the road and disappeared from view. "Are you sure this is wise?" He muttered.

Kurama nodded. "She can handle herself and you heard what her brothers said. Even though she was a known half demon, she got along with both the other demons and other humans. I don't think there will be a problem."

"We'll see…" Hiei replied.

Meanwhile Yusuke and me had gotten to the end of the neighborhood. "This is boring, ready to race?" Yusuke asked.

"But you have an unfair advantage. I'm wearing a book bag!" I pointed out.

"So? We both know it doesn't weigh enough to affect you."

I laughed. "I know but it was worth a try."

"Ready…?" Yusuke started. "Go!" He took off as fast as he could with me right behind.

I pulled up beside him and laughed again. "How can you hope to win if you don't know which way to go?"

"Hmm… I guess I'll just have to let you stay slightly ahead and pass you in the final straightaway."

"Ha, go ahead and try!" I joked as I passed him.

Yusuke stayed hot on my heels as we went down one road and later turned into another, fairly easily outrunning passing cars. We darted quickly across a couple intersections before passing the Middle Creek High School sign. "Final sprint is to the overhang by the front circle!" I called and Yusuke nodded as we kept going. "No wait, to the bike rack so it doesn't look as weird when we suddenly appear in the middle of all those people." I decided and Yusuke nodded again to show he'd heard.

We were even now with the bike rack straight in front of us. Sticking my tongue out I suddenly lurched forward reaching out my hand and grabbing hold of the metal rail. "I win!" I declared, giving a playful victory sign.

"I was going easy on ya." Yusuke muttered.

"Sure…" I laughed as we started towards the doors. I was already aware of the stares I was getting but I was doing my best to ignore them. I was very self conscious about the ears and tail.

As I entered the school all noise suddenly ceased and all eyes were on me. I instinctively hid behind the only thing that wouldn't hide or stare: Yusuke. He jumped at first when I clung to his arm hiding slightly behind him but allowed it as he too noticed there was not a single person who didn't have their attention focused on me.

"Shit, trouble already…" He muttered before staring fiercely around at students and teachers alike. "Hey, if you have a problem with her why don't you take it up with me?" He screamed and everyone turned quickly away from his harsh glares. He turned cheerfully back to me and said, "Well, where to first?"

"Umm…" I started. "We're still really early so let's look for some of my friends." I released Yusuke's arm and went straight, then turning right past the cafeteria and soda machines and down another hall to the left. I continued down it past the bathrooms and followed its length until I came to a narrower hall leading to a room.

"This doesn't look like a very friendly part of the school…" Yusuke muttered.

"Well how would you know? Have you ever been to your school's band room?" I asked and he just shrugged and turned away. I smiled and shook my head, slightly cringing as I neared the doors because of the loud drum beats echoing in my ears.

Yusuke noticed. "What's wrong? Should we head back?"

"No, it's ok. Those drums are just a little loud. I haven't gotten used to them yet." I assured him before entering the room. Nobody even looked up for I entered the room without a sound and everyone was in little groups just talking and having a good time. I looked around for a moment before turning to smile at Yusuke and then walking towards a small group of three people. "Hey." I called as I tapped two of them on the shoulders.

They turned, about to respond, but froze as they saw me. Before they could cry out I placed a finger over my lips and behind me Yusuke's glaring also helped with keeping them quiet. "K-Kira?" One of them, Courtney asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, like the new look?" I teased.

"What happened to you?" The other, Chelsea cried out.

"Shh, please try not to let the others notice me. They haven't yet…" I pleaded. "You should've seen the looks I got as I walked in the building!"

"I can't imagine why." Chelsea laughed, looking me over. "But really, what did happen?"

"Well, that's a really long story if I go into detail so I'll give ya'll a simplified version. I was separated from my real family over five hundred years ago and every around ten years I'd die of some disease until my brother and these guys…" I paused to point at Yusuke. "…Found me and gave me the cure. They picked me up from the hospital and changed me back to my real form, which is this, and they gave me all the power I've accumulated over the years and now here I am!" I finished, laughing at their unbelieving faces. "It's true you know."

"Can I…?" Courtney asked reaching out.

I rolled my eyes teasingly. "Sure, why not?"

Courtney's fingers found my ears and she touched one gently, pulling sharply back as it twitched. Suddenly she grabbed hold and pulled hard, causing me to cry out. "Ow! That hurts!"

"S-sorry, I thought they'd be fake." Courtney whispered.

I shook my head, holding its side. "Can we please leave this room? It's hurting my head and if we do I'll explain more to you. Oh, and I brought pictures!" I laughed, waving the pictures from my world traveling around in a plastic bag. My dad had gotten them developed while I was gone.

"What? You'd show them first instead of me?"Yusuke cried as he snatched them from my hand.

"Hey, give those back!" I yelled but he already had them out and was looking through them.

Suddenly he paused, his eyes widening and then with a smirk spreading across his face, he turned to me. "What are these?" He asked slyly as he held out two pictures.

My face turned bright red as I saw what they were. "No, don't!" I tried to grab them from him but he waved them high over his own head as he was already taller than me. I could grow shorter, not taller so I couldn't reach. "No fair!"

He placed a hand on my head, forcing me lower as he leaned towards my friends. "Wanna see?" He smirked.

I screamed as Courtney and Chelsea quickly took the pictures and looked at them as Yusuke held me back. They both glanced at me with shocked faces and then stared back at the pictures.

I growled and jumped up, causing Yusuke to topple backwards as I snatched back the pictures with a crimson face but the damage was already done. These were the two pictures that I had meant to take out of the bunch but had forgotten. The first was off Dark, planting his surprise kiss and the second was of me and Gojyo when we had fallen asleep leaning on each other. There were some others but they weren't as bad.I clamped a hand over my face and stared at the ground as the other three watched me.

Chelsea snatched the pictures back and examined them further. "Is this the shy Kira I thought I knew?" Courtney asked.

"They look older than you, especially the red haired guy!" Chelsea added.

"But they were accidents!" I cried. "Dark got me while we were posing for the picture and Gojyo was sitting beside me when I fell asleep!"

Courtney jumped at the names. "I knew they looked familiar! Wait… what?" She asked in shock. She had also read the books that I knew the guys from.

I sighed. "Give me them and I'll explain." Hesitantly the pictures were handed back and I slipped them carefully in my pocket before looking at the others. "I was captured and sent to another world by a guy named Akumei. I know I have a picture of him somewhere…" I muttered, sorting through the photos. "Ah! Found it." I said, holding it up and continuing as Chelsea took it. "He sent me to another world and kept transporting me until I ended back up in my own. He has no control over where I go so it was all a game of chance. I think Courtney knows most of the people I met during my world hopping." I joked. I went through the pictures one by one, showing Courtney, Chelsea and Yusuke who each person was.

As we stood staring at the pictures a bell rang out signaling that we were to head to our classes. "Well, I'm going to chance going to class like this…" I said, smiling nervously as I gathered up my pictures again. We bid each other goodbye and all went our separate ways as I studied my schedule and looked around. "This way…" I said uncertainly as Yusuke and I started off.

We reached the science room just as the one minute bell rang and I shivered lightly. "I'm suddenly scared…" I whispered.

"Of what?" Yusuke asked.

"Their reactions…"

"If anyone messes with you know that I'm here to watch your back." Yusuke grinned, clenching his fist.

I laughed lightly. "Thanks." I turned and took a deep breath, slowly walking into my classroom. I flinched under the sudden stares I got and walked along the small tables, looking for one with my name. I stopped when I found it and looked at who I was next to. _Great,_ I sighed. _It's someone I know._ It was a boy who I had two classes with last year, Allan. I smiled lightly as I sat down and then laid my head on my desk.

"I know you… Don't I?" I heard him ask and Ilooked up, nodding.

"Yeah, we had printing graphics and art together…"

"You look a lot different." He joked nervously.

"I underwent a surprise transformation." I said simply before hiding my face in my arms again.

The class went by quickly with almost no more interruptions though I kept my head down, ears drooping slightly, as I felt eyes constantly on me. When the bell rang, signaling us to leave for our next class, three of my good friends who all had science with me caught up with me before I could leave. They showered me with questions but I only told them as much as I had told Allan which wasn't a lot. "I'm going to write everything out eventually so I won't have to keep telling it over and over. Instead I'll just email you the story." I promised as we split ways in the hall.

I went to my right and then turned right again to the classroom hidden in the slight extension of the hall. The teacher was standing outside his room and stopped to stare at me as I approached. He knew me from his class last year, printing graphics one. Now I was starting yearbook with him. He cracked an uneasy joke and I told him the same thing I had just told my three friends, about writing it all down, and proceeded into the classroom.

I sat down on the half of the room where less people were and waited to see if someone I knew would come in. Finally a girl I've known for forever, Jackie, entered and stopped short, staring at me. I laughed uneasily and beckoned her to come closer.

She sat down in the seat beside me and blinked a few times. Just as she opened her mouth to speak another friend of mine, Jordan, came over and screamed out, "Holy shit, Kira. What happened?"

I felt my face turn red as all eyes turned towards me and said in a quiet voice. "I've transformed."

"What does that mean?" Jackie asked.

"It means I'm not really a human and I never was supposed to be." I answered.

"Well what does that mean?" Jordan yelled.

"I'm going to write it all down and if you manage to read it all, you'll know all about me. Hmm… That's not really safe, is it?" I laughed lightly, trying to break the tension.

The teacher came in and stopped everything as he explained stuff to us about being in yearbook class. After that we spent the rest of the class talking and had just I gotten Jackie and Jordan to start acting normal around me when the bell rang to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow probably." I smiled as we split up in the hall.

I looked at my schedule realizing I had lunch next and went left and down the hall before turning right once I reached the front doors. I ended up in the cafeteria and stood clueless in the middle of the room, staring around. My ear twitched and I spun around to see Courtney walking towards me. I ran up to her and laughed. "Yes, we have lunch together!"

She laughed and nodded before we headed towards a partly empty table. Other friends of Courtney's joined us later and after the initial shock of seeing me, we all settled down and began to eat.

Finally another bell rang and we ceased our talking to head up the stairs to our classrooms. I crossed to the other side of the school and went down to the end of the hallway to a classroom. I found a seat quickly in the back of the room and sat slumping low. Soon another person I knew entered, Asia. He saw me and his mouth momentarily dropped before he crossed over to me and sat down beside me. I told him the same thing as everyone else that I was going to write it all down and he would know then. Another boy named Mike and a girl named Stephanie sat around me as well and we became fast friends, despite my appearance.

After that class ended I headed to my last of the day, Spanish. I walked into the classroom and sat down near the back of the class, flinching as I saw the teacher. She stared at me, eyes wide in shock and spoke. "Please, take off that costume and we'll begin class."

I heard the class snicker behind me and blushed lightly. "I can't, it's not a costume." I replied quietly.

"Then…?" She started in surprise.

I paused and then spoke. "I'll tell you about it but I don't want this whole class to know all about me. Mind if we speak in Spanish?" I asked. She looked shocked but nodded and I proceeded in explaining everything in perfect Spanish, not messing up once. I did have the gift of language after all!

As I finished I asked her, "Since I already know fluent Spanish, can I kind of skip out on some of the stuff? I'll take every quiz and complete every worksheet though…" I added quickly. I finally got her to agree and went to an open seat in the second to back row and laid my head down.

I had achieved my goal of blocking out the teacher's voice and was almost asleep when someone grabbed my tail and pulled hard. "Hey!" I shouted in a whisper as I whirled around, pausing when I saw who it was.

"I thought it would be fake." The boy, Josh, laughed at me.

"No, it's not so please don't pull on it." Instead of listening Josh reached up and lightly pulled on an ear, watching it twitch.

"I guess that's not either." He said.

I blushed lightly and nodded as I stared at the boy beside him. He just stared back with wide eyes. "Umm… hi." I smiled. "I'm Kira.

"I'm Austin." He replied slowly.

I grinned slightly before turning back around and laying my head down again but I was soon interrupted. My ear twitched and I looked up in time to see a paper airplane fly smoothly over my head. I watched the teacher but she didn't notice. Another one swiftly followed and then another after that. I jumped as something hard hit the board and the teacher finally turned around from her writing. Everyone in the class quieted down as she scanned everyone before turning back around. As soon as she did another airplane soared through the air accompanied by a few spit balls. I suppressed a giggle as I turned to Josh. He was shaking with silent laughter.

After many more disturbances the class finally ended and we all filed quickly out. I wondered down the stairs and headed slowly towards outside, meeting up with random people I knew along the way.

I stood outside for a while waiting for someone to come get me and noticing all the others gradually leaving. I turned as someone approached me and smiled at him slightly. "Hey, I know you." He said.

It was a boy who was in my art class last year. "I think I know you too." I laughed.

"I'm Ryan." He said and I replied with, "I'm Kira." We began talking and quickly warmed up to each other. I was grateful that the only thing he did was touch my ear once and then forget about them.

Someone touched my shoulder lightly and I whirled around to see Yusuke staring at me slowly. "Sorry I'm late." He smirked. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." I said happily before turning to Ryan. "I'll see you here tomorrow, ok?" He nodded and I turned and started walking away with Yusuke. "How could you be late?" I asked.

He just shrugged. "I forgot about you."

I froze and stared at him. "How could you just forget about me?" I asked feeling crushed.

He laughed at my reaction. "Ha, I didn't really. I just wanted to let you have some time to meet up with old friends and stuff."

I recovered and smiled. "Oh, thanks then." We continued walking, soon growing bored and sprinting in a race to get back first.

This time we ended in a dead even tie and as we burst through the door everyone stared at us. I looked up uneasily. "Hi everyone." I said, flinching under their stares.

"How was your first day?" My mom asked hesitantly.

"It went ok. Not too many people questioned it and my friends all took it well." I said with a satisfied smile.

"Alright." Kurama said, getting to his feet. "Time for training."

I stared at him for a moment. "What?"

"Your training is the most important above everything, even school. You're lucky we're allowing you to go. If you were training under Gen Kai there's no way you would have so much freedom." Kurama explained.

"You got that right." Yusuke mumbled in agreement.

I couldn't find an argument against this and agreed to go outside with Kurama. It was about three in the afternoon when we started.

Yusuke arrived on the scene at around ten. He smirked as he leaned against a tree to watch. Kurama lashed the rose whip at me and I leapt to the side. It followed me and I flipped around in midair and waved my hand, leaving a neon green shield in its wake. The whip hit and fell back and I quickly made a shield just around my hand and grabbed the end. Kurama was caught off guard and I held my hand, palm flat towards him. A blast the size of my hand exploded out and Kurama dived to the ground to avoid it. Meanwhile I snatched up the whip and held it wound about my shielded hand. I advanced slowly until I was standing over him yet out of reach. Kurama sat up slowly and raised his hands. "Alright, you win." He laughed. "Good work."

"Thank you." I said proudly before turning to Yusuke who was coming up behind me. "It's not nice to sneak up on people." I said, sticking my tongue out.

He froze and scratched the back of his head. "You're no fun." He laughed. "But I was sent to tell you that your mom's getting worried. You've been out here for seven hours now."

I shook my head as I handed Kurama his rose whip. "Really? Time sure does fly…" I said with a grin.

The three of us headed back to the house where I accepted a small meal and did the little bit of homework I had received on my first day. Next I headed up to my room and collapsed into my bed. I sighed and willed myself to stand. "Why is the pain always a delayed reaction?" I muttered to myself as I began to slip out of my training clothes. I jumped as someone knocked on my door and quickly threw my shirt back on. "Come in…" I sighed.

I was surprised to see Hiei slip in, shutting the door behind him. "What are you doing?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I _was_ getting ready for bed."

"You don't have time to sleep, the tournament's this July." Hiei said.

"But if I'm going to school then I'll need rest first!" I complained.

Hiei shook his head. "No, if you can't handle the night and day training you shouldn't go at all. As Kurama said, training is important above all else." Hiei smirked.

I bowed my head and agreed, trudging slowly behind him and grabbing my sword on the way out of my room. We exited the house quietly to not disturb others who were asleep as it was nearing midnight.

We slipped silently through the trees until Hiei stopped suddenly. "Let's practice here today."

I paused and looked around. "But there's no clearing, just trees everywhere!" I exclaimed.

He nodded. "I know. That will make it harder." With that he drew his sword and lunged at me. Used to his sudden attacks, I slipped mine out as well, jumping back at the clanking of metal. He disappeared and drifted around the trees, circling me until he was able to charge my back. I caught his scent and blocked him once more, catching his coat with my claws. I ripped the strips of cloth from my claws with my teeth and leapt from tree to tree after him. We continued fighting in this way until the sun peeked slowly down on us. I froze, crying out as Hiei's sword almost got me. "You let your guard down." He smirked.

"But the sun's up! That means I have to go to school with no sleep!" I cried.

"Or you could quit." Hiei suggested.

I shot him a cold look before limping slowly towards my house with Hiei following close behind. The sun was just going up so I snuck past my mom who was busy making people get ready, and headed to my room. I urged myself to change into baggy black pants with a fairly tight black t-shirt and washed my face. I entered my room again and went straight to my bed, falling instantly face first into sleep.

I was awoken just a few minutes later as someone shook my shoulder. I winced and lifted my head. "You're going to be late." Hiei smirked.

"Yeah, yeah…" I groaned, forcing myself to my feet. My ears drooped low as I staggered down the stairs with Hiei close behind. I grabbed my lunch from my mom and grabbed my book bag, saying goodbye on the way out. Pausing, I turned to Hiei who was still behind me. "What are you doing?" I asked with a yawn.

He glared and looked away. "Since I kept you up all night it's my turn to take you to school and back." He muttered.

I just nodded and kept wobbling forward, stumbling every now and then. The two of us made it all the way to the road just across the street from our school's sign before I collapsed, holding my head with closed eyes.

Hiei quickly ran over to me, crouching at my side. "Are you ok?" He asked.

I blinked a few times and released my head. "Yeah, I just got dizzy…" I whispered.

His smirk returned as he replied. "Not a morning person?"

"What do you think?" I said with a glare before standing and darting across the street. We made it to the school with no mishaps and we parted at the front doors. I headed to class and he headed back to the house I wished I was sleeping in.

We ended up not doing much in biology so I slept a lot in there and managed to stay partly awake in yearbook. Lunch passed by as usual and so did civics and then I slept through Spanish, making small, personal shields every time a flying object almost hit me.

The one thing people kept bugging me about was my arms. I hadn't taken the time to wash them before I had left home and they were caked with dried blood from the sword training. I got permission to go to the bathroom and clean up in between naps during biology but the cuts were still very obvious. It freaked a lot of people out as they thought I was cutting myself but I reassured them with a laugh however I was still too tired to heal myself. I decided to let them heal naturally which would happen by tomorrow at the latest.

Again I was outside talking to Ryan when Hiei appeared to walk me back. We went slowly in silence and as soon as I entered the house Yusuke steered me back out and into the woods. I bit back the tears of frustration as we began our training.

Yusuke ran at me and I leapt to the side, swiping at him with tensed claws. He jumped back, landing a kick in my side as he did so. I braced myself, sliding across the ground but staying on my feet. I ran quickly towards him and saw him preparing to throw a punch. As he let it go I leapt to his side, slamming my own fist hard into his stomach. He fell to one knee clutching it but quickly recovered and looked up at me. "What are you so worked up about?" He asked with a laugh.

"Nothing!" I growled.

"Ok then…" Yusuke muttered as he struck at me again and our training resumed.

As night fell I was allowed to return to the house and have a quick snack before quickly doing my homework. Tonight I had time to update my site with another picture and then get on Gaia for a moment. I managed to enter a submission to join a role playing guild before I was marched back outside again.

The days followed pretty much like that for the next nine weeks. I would go to school with maybe an hour of sleep at most and end up getting another hour and a half during Spanish. I'd come home only to be brought back outside to train and then allowed back in at nightfall to do homework and get a snack and a bit of computer time. Then I'd go back outside with someone different and work more. I'd get about an hour or less of sleep and then be up again for school. And that is how the pattern went.

One Saturday night I could be found sitting on the computer. I had been there since they had allowed me in for training which was a few hours ago. Hiei came up behind me and looked over my shoulder at what I was doing but I ignored him, knowing he couldn't read it. I did blush slightly though since I was currently in the guild I had applied to. I had been accepted and had paired with another character there. I was playing as myself yet not telling that it's how I really was. Currently his character and mine were on the beach together enjoying some quiet time. Hiei soon grew bored of watching me type and demanded that I go out and practice. I told the person online that I had to go and left without protest, hoping that if I listened well I'd be able to enjoy more free time on the computer.

After a few months of following this strict schedule it was already December 23rd, the last day before Christmas break. The day passed quickly as all we did was take two exams and then headed out the door. I talked excitedly with friends about winter break before Kurama showed up to take me back. He laughed as I shivered and offered me the coat he had brought. I smiled and gratefully took it, wrapping it tightly around myself as we hurried home.

"So…" I started hesitantly. "I get Christmas Eve and Christmas day off right?"

Kurama just smiled and answered with, "we'll see."

I entered the house to drop off my book bag and headed straight back outside to Kurama where he led us to the woods for training. After a while I was able to strip off the jacket and still feel fine.

As night fell Yusuke came and took over and we proceeded without stopping. Around one AM I was growing tired and blinked constantly to keep the sleep from my eyes. Yusuke noted this and laughed. "What's wrong, getting tired?"

I looked over at him sleepily. "Well what would you do if you were kept up until at least five AM every night and still had to get up for school?" I yawned as I took the jacket back and wrapped it about myself again.

Yusuke shook his head and smiled, helping me back to the house. I staggered up the stairs, stripped down, put on new clothes, washed up, and then fell face first into my bed. I shivered slightly, muttering about the cold as I slipped under the covers.

I awoke the next morning, jumping as I saw my alarm clock. It was after ten! Jolting from my bed I ran downstairs still in my pajamas, freezing as I saw everyone feasting on pancakes and waffles. Kurama looked up at me and smiled. "Merry Christmas Eve." He said.

I stared for a second before recovering and giving a smile and a nod in return. I sat down at an empty seat and ate one waffle before heading to the computer. Once there I updated my site and then went to Gaia so I could raid the art freebies thread. I scored a ton of free art of my avatar and of my real self. I was finally able to take the time to play with Gaia fishing, the first game ever added to the site. I was a beginner and it was fairly obvious but I enjoyed it anyway. Next I figured out the wonders of caroling on Gaia. At the fifth non player character you visited you would get a gift that you couldn't open until Christmas day. I managed to gather a full set and then explored Gaia kissing. The rules were you click a player's avatar and then you could kiss them but it only lasted until New Years.

Finally caught up with all things Gaia, I headed back to otaku to mess with my website. I visited all the people who had signed my guestbook and put up all the drawings I had sketched out in my littlebit of spare time onto the fan art section of the site. I also made it to every person who was on my friend's list and managed to leave comments at each of their sites. I then wasted even more time checking out other people's fan art.

Finally beginning to grow bored of those places, I headed over to quizilla and made a few more parts of my story quiz I had slowly been working on. I requested drawings to use as result images for future quizzes as well.

Then my mom called us and we all packed and got ready to head to my aunt's house. Once there we had a Christmas lunch and then opened a few presents. I got the CD Chuck by Sum 41 which made me really happy. I put my headphones perched precariously on my head and sat on the couch listening to it.

Eventually I got bored of that too and started wondering around the house. I found Hiei who had followed to keep an eye on me, and begged until he agreed to go out and train with me. I let my mom know where I was going and we headed out to the fields surrounding my aunt's house. I was freezing but soon warmed up as our training commenced.

Towards nightfall, my cousins stumbled upon us and watched amazed as our swords clashed. Hiei noticed and stopped so I headed back inside with them. Soon afterwards we headed back home and after a couple more hours spent talking to people online I headed to bed early.

The next morning I was awoken fairly early to the noise of excited siblings. It was Christmas morning. I stumbled out of my warm bed and shivered slightly as I went downstairs. We opened our presents and I got a few more CDs and a game for the Nintendo DS we had just gotten as well.

Very quickly I grew bored of this and went to play with the dogs and wish them a merry Christmas too. Then I got on Gaia once more to open the presents I had been collecting to find several Christmas items. I put them on and proceeded in talking to people there.

Finally I rose and we packed up to leave for Hickory to visit my dad's side of the family. The whole three hour drive was spent looking out the window with the headphones crooked on top of my head. We got there and had Christmas lunch and then hung out around the house. I talked Yusuke, who had been chosen to accompany me this time, into taking me into the woods to train and we did that until my mom began calling for us after nightfall.

I went into the family room with Nick and my cousin Andrew and we watched Adult Swim until late when I went downstairs and scooted onto an air mattress beside Jack and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning I got Yusuke to train with me again all day until it was time to leave and we piled into the car for another miserable three hour ride home.

After that things went back to normal with my training all day and night except for a few hours but I was allowed another break for New Years. School started soon after and things fell once again back into routine. The one new thing was that instead of biology, civics and Spanish, I started up English, geometry, and creative writing so I had to get all those new people used to me. Josh was once again in my class, this time beside me in math. Courtney was finally in English with me and Jackie was now in yearbook and math. I quickly met people in writing so I wasn't alone in there for long either.

The semester passed by quickly until May finally came and school was released for summer break. I bid everyone goodbye, knowing that the deadly tournament was drawing ever closer.


	26. The Tournament Begins

* * *

Finally early one morning in mid June Kurama awoke me with a soft shake of my shoulder. "Today's the day." He whispered. 

My eyes widened for a moment and I nodded slowly. He left and I slid out of bed, quickly changing into black baggy pants and a small black t-shirt. I packed a little bag of extra clothes and threw in the camera as well, growing nervous as more time passed. _Today's the day,_ I thought. _The day we leave for the tournament._ I rubbed my eyes and picked up my bag, heading down the stairs. I passed Kurri on the way and smiled as I snuggled him close. "Bye, hopefully I'll be back to take care of you…" I whispered. My parents were there and I couldn't keep my eyes from swirling blue as I hugged them both goodbye.

Slowly we split apart and I handed them the kitten as I exited with the guys and we gathered outside. "We're stopping by to get Botan." Yusuke said as he adjusted the settings of the watch he was wearing. Everyone took hold of him and we went by his house to get Botan and Yukina too. He next brought us to a dark forest where we started walking.

As we traveled I wrinkled my nose at the foul smell of demon that surrounded me. "Why can't we just transport the rest of the way?" I asked.

"Barriers." Kurama replied simply so I quieted.

Soon we came upon a huge boat in front of us. Loading quickly onto it were every type of demon you could imagine but every one of them was as ugly as the next. We approached it slowly, attracting many stares and paused at the base of the ramp that led to the deck. "It's larger than last time…" Kurama said, mostly to himself. Then he spoke to all of us. "This is it. Once you step onto this boat there's no turning back."

Slowly we all agreed and, taking a deep breath, I stepped onto the ramp after them and followed up to the deck. All the demons turned to glare at us with bloodshot eyes, daring us to make a wrong move. I could almost smell the hate in the air that they sent at us as we made our way to a large room on the boat, a room for seven. My ears twitched as I heard them muttering about another demon traitor who had taken the human's side and I knew they were talking about me. I refused to show any signs of weakness though, and proceeded with my head up until we entered the room and the door was safely shut.

As soon as we were in private, I sat down on a couch, my head in my hands. A hand found my back and I looked up to see Kurama. "Are you ok?" He asked.

I nodded slowly. "I'll be fine…" I replied quietly as I looked around. The room was fairly normal looking with a few couches placed around a table and seven separate beds placed around the room. There was also a bathroom off in a room to the side. Yukina, Botan and I claimed beds on one side of the room and Hiei, Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara on the other.

The day passed by sluggishly with all of us staying safe inside our secluded room, listening to the ramblings and fights of the demons outside. Towards nightfall we all climbed into our chosen beds and tried to sleep. Mine was furthest from the guys, against a wall.

I lay there for hours, staring at the ceiling yet unable to even close my eyes. All I could think about was the island where the tournament would be held that was drawing ever nearer. My ear twitched and I sat up suddenly, peering into the darkness in front of me.

Before I had time to see if there really was a shadowy figure crouched there, a hand was already covering my mouth. My eyes widened and I clawed at the hand but another held my own down. "Easy now." A voice breathed in my ear, causing me to shiver. "I'm just here to warn you that an ambush is being planned at this very moment. No one on this boat wants you to make it to the island alive."

The hand loosened and I spoke in barely a whisper. "And why are you telling me this?" I asked fearfully. The man behind me was obviously a demon as well, I could tell from his scent. Plus, we were supposed to be the only team with humans there.

A small laugh escaped him as he stroked my cheek, still holding my hands behind my back to keep me from jumping away. "I want a chance to fight you in the ring. So, until we meet again…" His voice trailed off and I was released. I spun around quickly, my eyes following as a shadow darted quickly out the door.

I wiped my cheek where he had touched me and slipped from my bed, crossing to Kurama's. "Kurama!" I whispered urgently, lightly shaking his shoulder. He rolled over and looked at me, slowly blinking so I continued. "They're planning to attack us right now in our sleep!"

He smiled softly at me and replied, "No I'm afraid you must have been dreaming."

I shook my head violently. "No! Someone was just in here and they warned me!"

At this Kurama sat up quickly and snapped on the light beside his bed. This in turn disturbed the others who were still sleeping and they all turned as well as Kurama spoke. "What? How? Did they hurt you?"

I shook my head. "No, he just warned me and left. He said… he said he wanted a chance to fight me in the ring…" I said quietly.

"Well if they're planning on attacking us, I say we should go attack them right now before they get a chance!" Kuwabara suggested.

Very reluctantly everyone agreed but Kurama turned to me once more. "You stay here. They don't expect much from you so let's keep that an advantage and not give things away tonight. Don't worry, we'll be fine." He added as I began to protest.

I crossed over to the bed that both Botan and Yukina were sitting on and sat with them, huddled with my knees pulled to my chest. "He snuck up on me so easily!" I said angrily.

Botan sighed and tried to comfort me. "It's ok, you were half asleep! I'm sure that when you meet later you'll definitely give it to him!" She said enthusiastically punching the air.

I smiled and nodded, amazed at how optimistic she could be while riding to our doom on a boat full of demons who wanted us dead. Eventually she got me to get back into my bed and calmed me down enough that I was able to close my eyes. After a few more hours I was out yet still somewhatuneasy in my mind.

I awoke with a start the next morning as a soft light hit my face. At first I looked around wildly, unsure of where I was but slowly it all came back to me. I looked around to see all other beds in the room empty and quickly darted out the door. I went down the hall and came out on deck where the others all stood near the front of the boat.

I approached them slowly, looking around to find the place pretty much abandoned. I was half hoping to catch the scent of the one who had warned me last night but couldn't find it anywhere. Instead I hurried to the others and stood with them at the rail.

I followed Yusuke's glare to see an island ahead. It looked like a curved claw reaching up to the sky with the base like the palm of a hand. I jumped as lightening clashed over just it like a dark omen warning us to turn back. I shivered wishing I could. I sensed that nothing but trouble would come from this and I suddenly became very afraid though I tried to hide it as best I could.

When we were almost to it, we all turned and entered the room, gathering up our stuff. We went to the exit ramp and piled off onto the foreboding island as I looked around for whoever had warned me. Still unsuccessful I turned and followed the others up a well worn path to the center of the island.

After an hour or so we arrived at a massive stadium. Turning to the right we entered a hotel that was next door. "Looks like they've rebuilt everything…" Yusuke muttered as he looked around. The hotel was fancy with potted plants scattered around and a large fountain in the middle of the room. Red velvet carpet lay across the floor and a person behind the main desk called us over. He appeared to be the only one in the entire hotel and I couldn't sense anyone else either.

The man entrusted Kurama with our room keys and we climbed the stairs, reluctant to trust an elevator. The room was much like the one from the boat though even larger. It wasn't just one room but instead two with a door linking them in the middle. One contained three beds and the other four. In both there was a large bathroom with a tub and shower and beside it a large closet big enough to be a small room. Also in each was a fairly big table with couches along three of its four sides. So all in all there was much more space than needed.

Sometime during the afternoon someone came knocking on our door. Kurama hesitantly opened it and was handed a letter from a man who bowed and left after handing it over. The door was closed and Kurama crossed the room towards us and opened the letter. His eyes quickly scanned over its contents and he looked up at us. "Tomorrow morning at ten will be our first match against team Shiru." He announced.

Everyone paused to register this until Yusuke asked, "And they are…?"

"We don't know." Botan replied. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

Night arrived very slowly but as soon as it came I was wide awake with worry over tomorrow. _Maybe I won't even have to fight!_ I thought hopefully as I tried to sleep.

I must have managed it during the night for I was shaken lightly awake the next morning, greeted by a grunt from Hiei. I climbed from the bed and he handed me my sword. I strapped it to my waist and headed outside to where the others waited.

In one large group we headed next door to the quickly filling stadium and entered through the back. Inside the walls were a cold gray stone that just added to my nervousness. We stood at the entrance of a dark tunnel as the announcer called out our name, team Urameshi. "Is everyone ready?" Kurama asked as he stepped forward. I took a deep breath and went forward with the rest, blinking in the light and wincing at the sneers of the demons in the crowd.

Kurama came to my side. "Kira, do you sense Keiko or Shizuru anywhere?"

"Shizuru?" I questioned.

"Kuwabara's sister."

My eyes scanned the crowd and rested on a box with glass windows near the top of the stadium. I nodded towards it. "They're up there." I said quietly.

Kurama nodded and informed Yusuke and Kuwabara who at least looked a little relieved at this news. I saw some of their tension drain away and wished mine would too.

The cat like announcer stepped into the ring and pointed to the tunnel opposite us and yelled out. "Vs. team Shiru!" Shapes appeared in the darkness as the crowd erupted with cheers. Soon they were able to be made out as a group of five cat demons. The hair of my tail stood on end as one of them caught my eye and sneered but I quickly averted my gaze.

"This will be a five on five match." The announcer continued. "Five separate matches with one on one. The team with the most wins at the end is the victor. You win either by killing or knocking out your opponent for a ten count or keeping them out of the ring for a ten count. Ready? Teams, decide who will go first." Kurama volunteered for us and no one objected as one of the cat demons stepped into the ring from the other side as well. The announcer looked at them both and shouted, "Begin!"

The cat demon immediately leapt forward, slashing at Kurama who lashed back with his rose whip. The demon yowled as the thorn lined rope found its mark. Kurama stepped back as the announcer rushed forward making faces as she surveyed what was left of the cat. Finally stepping back she pointed a hand at Kurama. "Team Urameshi gets the first win! Can we get someone to clean this up?" She added to the side.

After the stage was clear she asked for two more and another cat demon and Kuwabara stepped forward. Their fight started and caught up in rage for his fallen comrade, the cat demon made short work of Kuwabara. Though badly injured, Kuwabara was just barely out of the ring for ten seconds before he was climbing back up though that was enough. "Win for team Shiru!" The announcer cried.

Yusuke and another cat entered the ring next and the battle raged on for over half an hour. Both beaten and tired, they each gave one last great attack but Yusuke was the one to fall. He limped back over to us and plopped down, cursing himself. "There's another win for team Shiru! That makes the count two to one in favor of Shiru." The crowd erupted again at these words, screaming about killing us all in horrible ways.

As Hiei stepped into the ring Kurama turned to me. "You know this means you'll have to fight, right?" I swallowed hard and nodded and he smiled reassuringly at me. "It's alright. Just remember the training. I know you can do it!"

He turned back in time to see Hiei's sword slicing through the cat's waist, leaving both halves lying apart on the ground. "Win for team Urameshi! This round decides the match."

Hesitantly I stepped forward terrified to see that the demon who had caught my eye was the one I had to fight. "Begin!" He charged at me throwing a punch at my face. I leapt to the side, landing a knee in his stomach. He stumbled forward, surprised at my quick movement but smirked and ran at me again. He swiped his claws at my face but I caught his hand and clawed him back. He caught my hand as well and spoke softly so no others could hear. "What are you? A dog or a wolf? Or maybe both… I smell human as well."

"So, what's wrong with that?" I snarled. "You hate me because I have different blood than you?" We sprung apart and charged at each other once more. I ducked his punch and landed my own to his cheek and then quickly knocked his feet from under him.

He leapt back up and we caught each other's hands again. "Shouldn't I? Aren't cats and dogs supposed to hate each other?"

I glared at him with red eyes. "No! Why should I care about ancient grudges? I have a kitten at home that's waiting for me."

His eyes widened for a moment. "Really?" He shook his head and spoke once more. "Then fight seriously so I won't have to kill you!" He sprang back and I growled chasing after him. I reached out and pulled him close with my left hand and punched him hard with my right. The shirt ripped in my claws and he went sliding back. He leapt to his feet, wiping blood from his busted lip as he ran at me. Leaping to the side I stuck a foot out and he tripped, falling to his face. I ran forward, kicking him in the stomach as he staggered upright and he fell back and off the stage, clutching it. He coughed up blood and his eyes closed. The announcer ran in front of me to see him and began slowly counting to ten. Finally she said it and I breathed a sigh of relief as she exclaimed. "Team Urameshi wins the first round!"

I turned and walked shakily back to the others. "That was not cool…" I sighed. "But I don't think he's dead."

They congratulated me with smiles and we were told we could go back to our room. So we hastily did, not wanting any unneeded fights that could get us into trouble later on. We entered the large room and as they all talked at the couches around the table, I headed out to the balcony.

I stood there staring off into the distance with the wind lightly blowing my hair around my face, slightly obscuring it. I sighed and ignored it, my mind wandering back to Inuyasha and the others. Something tapped me on the shoulder and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned, expecting one of the guys but instead saw the cat demon I had just fought. I backed slowly away from him, instantly on guard and asked, "What do you want?"

He laughed and raised his hands harmlessly. "Relax, if I wanted to hurt you I would've already." Slowly I nodded, realizing he was right and relaxed a bit, moving back to my original spot at the rail. I placed my elbows on it and stared off to the distance again, watching the water lapping on the beach far away. He watched me silently for a while and then spoke again. "Well, I just wanted to say that was a nice fight but why didn't you finish me? I see now your skill greatly surpasses mine."

I blinked and smiled at him. "I don't want to kill anyone needlessly. It'd be great if I could survive this without taking a single life." With my mind clear of worries, I finally really looked at him for the first time. He had light brown hair that was shaggy and thick, sticking up in odd directions. Two somewhatrounded ears stuck up on either side. He had claws and fangs and slightly slanted and narrow pupils like that of a real cat. The tail's fur was similar to his hair, fuzzy and wild, and was long and slender. It flicked around behind him, never still as my own wagged slightly.

He regarded me carefully. "You're either foolish or kind." He said slowly. "But I think it's the later." He leaned against the rail beside me and continued. "Though you know how ruthless these demons are here and you're team is the most hated out of them all. Ours even had more supporters." He turned and stared off towards the beach as I had been doing. "You won't last very long thinking like that. If you hadn't beaten me so quickly you would've had to face my special powers though something gives me the feeling I still would've lost." He said, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment.

"Well it may have been close at least!" I teased lightly before growing serious. "And I know. I've just grown up with humans, living with different families for over five hundred years so I've learned a lot from them. I don't feel its right to take another's life, no matter how bad they are. To me there's always a chance they'll change but they just have to embrace it." I paused and laughed softly. "Though I'm probably just being overly optimistic and I have actually killed before…" I added quietly as an afterthought.

He regarded me for a moment more as if to decide if I was serious or just pretending. Finally he smiled and nodded. "Well that's a great way to think. If only more agreed…" His voice trailed off as we heard footsteps approaching. The window was closed behind me with the drapes closed though so no one could see out. "That's my cue to leave." He whispered. "I'll be cheering for you in the crowd." He promised as he stood on the rail. "Oh, and my name's Shiru." He added.

"I'm Kira." I responded quietly. He smiled and leapt over the balcony, slipping away in the shadows. A thought popped into my head and I breathed in his scent but quickly decided it wasn't the same as the one who was in my room on the boat.

The window opened and I turned around to see Kurama. He smiled softly and came to my side, standing where Shiru had just been. "Are you ok? You've been out here a while."

I nodded and smiled softly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking…" I replied, turning my gaze back to the ocean.

Making totally sure I was perfectly ok, Kurama finally returned inside. Sometime after nightfall I entered as well and joined the others, still around the table. As I sat down they changed their talk to that of heading to bed and Botan urged me and Yukina to come into the other room that held the three beds with her. Slowly we obeyed and the guys stayed around talking. We each climbed in the beds but I remained awake, staring at the ceiling once more and thinking of what Shiru had told me about not being able to keep from taking lives. Already Kurama and Hiei had each killed one. I knew it was just a matter of time before I was driven to as well.

My ear twitched as I heard someone sliding out of bed and I followed with my eyes as Botan slipped through the door that adjoined our rooms. I returned my gaze to the ceiling for a moment before deciding to listen in. I crept to the door and crouched behind it, pressing my head to it. I heard them talking but nothing really concerned me. I jumped as a knock sounded on their door and something was handed through. I strained to hear as Kurama tore something open and read aloud that our next fight would be against team Mishou. I listened for further information but none was said so I slowly crossed back to my bed. Climbing under the covers I settled back down laying on my side to stare at the wall.

Suddenly I felt my bed dip down as another climbed on behind me and my head darted up but something held it down. Another hand found my mouth and I realized it was the same person as the one on the boat. He chuckled quietly. "They don't guard you very well yet you do a horrible job of helping yourself too." I growled softly but he held me tightly down so I couldn't move as he leaned down to whisper in my ear. "I could kill you at any moment but I haven't yet. Why is that? It was a nice fight today though I wanted to see more. I wanted some of your hidden talents revealed. Why is it they've forced a young girl to fight in this tournament of monsters? That is why I haven't killed you. I could steal you away. Wouldn't it be fun to see their faces when they walked in to find you gone? And I'd get to make you show your skills to me in private, so only I could enjoy the secret so many wish to know. It's bothering me, I must know! I shall be the one to fight you in the final round of the tournament. Be ready for many hardships once there and you better not die before then. Then I shall be most disappointed. I won't go easy on you as so many probably have in the past. They don't believe you to have strength but I do. I can feel it even now, surging through you in your desperation to find who I am. Do not worry. Use that very longing to drive you to make it to the finals and then I shall reveal myself to you but only then. So until that day, love, do not expect many more nightly visits from me. Sleep in peace and keep your strength up." The hand lifted from my mouth but before I could cry out it waved across my eyes and I was sent quickly into a peaceful sleep.


	27. Overtaken With Rage

* * *

The next morning something grabbed my shoulder and I jolted awake, clawing at it. I opened my eyes to see Kurama holding my wrist, the claws right in front of his face. His eyes were wide as he stared at me. "Are you sure you're ok?" He asked hesitantly. 

I nodded, wiping my face and giving him a weak smile. "Just a bad dream…" I said, not telling I had yet again been visited.

He watched me carefully for a moment before turning. "Ok, we're getting ready to go."

I nodded again as he left the room. With an angry sigh I hopped from the bed shakily and stumbled into a wall. A wave of dizziness washed over me and I fell back again. _What did he do to me?_ I thought frantically as I recalled how the stranger had so easily sent me to sleep. I gritted my teeth as I changed clothes and joined the others, trying to hide the pain. They saw my eyes swirling pale gray but didn't understand that it meant I was hurting and just hurried me along with them.

We and team Mishou were introduced in the same way as yesterday and the two leaders stepped into the ring, Mishou for them and Yusuke for us. My ears twitched as I listened in and figured out they were deciding the terms for the match. I heard the words "dice roll" and quickly pulled at Kurama's arm. "Tell him to pick some way that I won't fight!" It was too late though, as Yusuke was already returning.

The announcer stepped up and confirmed my fears. "A dice will be rolled and whoever's name it lands on must go fight. First team to five wins is the victor."

"Yusuke!" I whimpered, going to him. "I can't fight my head's hurting really bad. I can barely stand up!" As if to prove this I suddenly collapsed where I stood and clutched my head tightly from both sides.

Meanwhile Mishou had approached with the dice in his hand. He sneered at me and asked, "Are you having troubles?"

"Just roll." Yusuke replied coldly and with a flick of his wrist, Mishou threw the dice. I closed my eyes tightly, reluctant to see the outcome but breathed a sigh of relief when someone announced it was to be Hiei vs. someone named Kai.

I didn't bother forcing my eyes open but instead kneeled on the ground listing to the clashing of what sounded like a sword against claws. I knew this sound well from all the training and could tell that Hiei had the upper hand.

_I see my power was too much for you._ I nearly jumped out of my skin as a voice sounded through my head.

I recognized it as the one who kept invading my room and whimpered back. _What do you want?_

He replied casually, _Just to warn you that if you can't overcome a simple sleeping spell you won't last very long against me. I'd hate to have that happen._ His voice paused as the fight ended and Hiei was declared the victor. I heard Mishou approach again to throw the dice and I listened with my breath held as they came to a stop. My worst fears were comfirmed as Mishou cockily read out, "Kira vs. Kasai." _Overpower the spell with your urge to find who I am. That and the one to live that keeps you from dying._ The stranger's voice disappeared and I slowly forced myself to stand.

Kurama came to me to help but I didn't allow it. "I'll be fine…" I muttered, shaking my head to try and clear the dizziness.

"You can always throw the fight." He commented but I ignored him, making my way slowly to the ring where Kasai stood waiting.

I glared at him as I saw him standing there so confidently with his arms crossed. Climbing slowly into the ring I was surprised by how quickly the announcer shouted, "Begin!" and gave a startled cry as Kasai appeared in my face. He punched at me but I stuck up an arm, knocking it away though I missed my chance to counterattack because I was still clutching my head.

He backed up and laughed at me. "You won't beat me one handed. In fact, you won't beat me at all, half breed!"

At his words my eyes went wide as all the forgotten memories of being mistreated in my childhood came rushing back to me. Before now I had only been able to recall the kindness towards me. I had forgotten how much I had suffered as well. I fell to my knees holding my head tightly with both hands and whimpered loudly, my eyes swirling deep blue. With a taunting laugh Kasai approached me and kicked my side, sending me rolling across the ring. "To tell you the truth, I had expected more though I suppose I was wrong." He leaned down, sneering in my face. "What are you, part wolf, part dog and part human? A mix of all three I think? That's worse than being a half breed…" He kicked me again, laughing with delight as I cried out, gray contaminating the deep blue of my eyes. "You're just a mutt. I hate to think of what your family must be like!"

At this I felt something inside me snap. My eyes sprang open, the entire thing glowing a bright crimson as my hands found the locket around my neck. I sat up, my head bowed so my hair was hiding my face as I snarled out. "Don't you ever talk about them like that. You have no idea who they are. You foul creature, you're not fit to judge anything!" I lifted my head, the glowing eyes staring from behind the wave of hair that had fallen to hide my face. Kasai stumbled back in fear, mumbling something incoherent as he stared at me with wide eyes. I rose to my feet, tensing my claws as I prepared to attack him.

Suddenly he vanished from sight. I closed my eyes. _The gift of invisibility…_ I thought to myself as I focused, blocking out the surprised shouts of Yusuke and the others. "There!" I screamed as I lunged to my right. My fist collided with something hard and I heard a loud grunt followed by feet sliding back on the stone stage. I listened as Kasai wiped his busted lip and ran around, approaching from behind. I spun on my heels and sprang forward to meet him. "Now die!" I snarled as my claws pierced through his stomach, emerging again from his back so it appeared my arm had lost its middlebecause it was inside his invisible body.

He suddenly came back into sight and coughed sending blood dribbling down his chin from his mouth and his eyes were wide. He slowly looked down in shock at my hand protruding through his stomach and back up at me. "You… win." He whispered before his head slumped forward.

The huge stadium was dead silent as I kicked him from my arm and turned towards the announcer, my red eyes still glowing. "W-winner, Kira. That's two for team Urameshi." She stammered, backing up slightly.

Narrowing my eyes I hopped down and approached the guys and Botan who backed away slightly to allow me to pass. I went to the wall beside the entrance we had come through and placed my back to it, sliding down to sit on the grass. I pulled the locket forward and poked a claw inside, causing it to spring open, and just sat there staring at it. Slowly crimson tears streamed down from the glowing eyes as I stayed unmoving. Suddenly a sharp pain rang through my head and I fell forward unconscious, the locket falling from my limp fingers.

Kurama scooped me up and brought me back to the others, setting me down gently in the middle. They crowed around me to find I was still breathing heavily and they slightly relaxed. Botan leaned down and closed the locket slowly. "Poor thing…" She whispered.

Mishou had come up behind them and was watching with interest. "A very powerful girl you've got there if you know how to let her loose."

"Shut up and roll." Yusuke growled, clenching his fists. 


	28. Final Round Begins

* * *

All I was told about what I missed after that was that we won the fight with little injuries suffered and I was carried back to the room and set to rest in my bed. I slept for several days, enough to miss five whole rounds before I finally began to stir. 

I groaned slightly and lifted a hand to my head. Opening my eyes slowly, I cried out in alarm and quickly closed them again. They were still glowing red and everything I saw was through a red haze. I rubbed my eyes vigorously and hesitantly reopened them. They had returned to the normal green, quickly changing blue as I thought about the last fight I was in. I sat up and leaned against the head of the bed, looking around and surprised to see Hiei watching me closely.

"You're not going to grow angry and attack me are you?" He smirked.

I shook my head and closed my eyes. "Please, not now." I whimpered as I felt a tear slide down my cheek. It was followed by more and soon I was sobbing quietly into my hands.

Hiei watched me during a long awkward silence before coming hesitantly to stand beside my bed. He slowly reached out and pulled my hand from my face and spoke harshly yet softly at the same time. "If you cry after every single time someone dies then you'll never get anywhere and will end up getting killed yourself! Now, why was it you passed out after that match? I know for a fact you can take much more pain than that and I doubt it was because of a simple fit of rage."

I whimpered and wiped my face with my free hand as he still held my other wrist. _Should I tell him about that night?_ I thought slowly to myself. "What night?" Hiei asked.

I jumped and stared at him, suddenly remembering he was a telepath. "No fair…" I sighed, taking a deep breath to calm myself. "Ok, you know that someone snuck into my room while we were on the boat?" He nodded impatiently and I continued. "Well that same person came into my room the night before the last fight I was in. It's why I was so scared when Kurama woke me. Anyway, he covered my mouth and held me down, keeping me from even moving and gave this long speech about wanting to know my hidden powers. He warned that he'd have lots of hardships for me to face and said that I'd better make it to the finals and that's where we'd finally meet." I paused, wiping my eyes again. "And then he released me and waved his hand over my eyes before I could react. I instantly fell asleep and it left me with a horrible headache. That's why I was having trouble before the match and wanted so bad not to fight. When I freaked out I forgot the pain but afterwards it came back doubled and I couldn't take it anymore…"

I looked up, meeting Hiei's eyes as he thought over what I said. "Do you think you'll be ready for him?" was his only question.

"You're not going to tell the others?" I asked in surprise.

"That wasn't an answer."

I sighed and said, "No, I don't. He acted like the sleep spell thing was really tiny and laughed at how I was barely able to handle it. I… I'm scared to fight him!" I blurted out.

Instead of responding, Hiei crossed the room and picked up my sword by the sheath. He tossed it to me and explained. "The semi finals were yesterday and we won but suffered damage. We have a day to prepare ourselves and then the finals are tomorrow. We'll train until then."

I nodded without protest and stood, strapping the sword to my waist. Instead of going to the other room and risk alarming everyone, we went quietly out the door to this room and went down the hall and outside. Hiei quickly led the way and he seemed like he knew where he was going so I didn't question him. We arrived in a grove of thick trees and finally stopped.

"Draw your sword." Hiei commanded and leapt at me on the last word. Mine darted from the sheath to reflect his and we went at it, springing off of trees to add to our momentum. After several hours of this, we switched to weaponless combat, though I used my claws. Still after that we continued on to spirit energy use. I grew slowly better at each point and we practiced all night and far into the next morning.

Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes and I leapt at it, adrenaline and suspicions flowing. I snarled and pinned them to a tree only to find it was Kurama. My eyes widened and I released him, backing away. "I'm so sorry!" I cried.

He laughed nervously scratching his head. "It's quite alright. Are you ready for the fight?" He paused and looked at my torn clothes and fresh scratches everywhere. "And are you rested at all?"

Slowly I shook my head. "But I'll hopefully be fine."

He smiled. "You can sleep during the fight. You'll probably fight last and only if needed."

I froze and stared at the ground guiltily at the secret I was keeping as Hiei came up behind me. Kurama gave me a strange look but stayed silent and we all went back to the hotel room. I quickly changed and healed my wounds before meeting up with the entire group and proceeding to the stadium.

This time it was a different one. It was much larger and had no ceiling but instead opened straight to the sky above. Demons filled the seats close to overflowing as we stood in the dark of the entrance. "And now, team Urameshi!" the announcer yelled out and we stepped forward, greeted by the all too familiar wave of boos and curses.

She turned to the other side and smiled, indicating with her arm outstretched. "And their opponents, team Atari!" I tensed as I stared forward and they approached slowly.

They seemed strangely weak to be finalists. I couldn't get a single feel of spirit energy coming off of any of them. I sniffed but couldn't catch the scent of the invader either. I frowned slightly as Hiei's voice sounded in my head. _Which one?_ I shrugged slightly and continued staring.

The announcer continued enthusiastically. "The loser is the first to lose all team members. There is no longer the possibility of a ring out. That leaves either knock out or a gruesome painful death!" The crowed erupted in cheers and I shuddered softly. Kurama rested a hand on my shoulder and sat me down against the wall beside where we had entered that was safely away from the ring. "They certainly don't seem like much but it could be a trick. However, you rest here and we'll get you if it's your turn." I nodded and leaned back almost instantly dropping into sleep. Kurama smiled and returned to the others. They quickly decided Kuwabara would go first and one of team Atari's members stepped up as well.

Kuwabara formed his sword and charged forward. There was a piercing scream and I moaned softly in my sleep as I heard it. Everyone stood in a shock at the sight of Kuwabara with the demon stabbed straight through by his sword. The creature had barely made a move to dodge and had just stood and waited for death. Now it lay on the ground, a large hole through its stomach and appearing through on its back as well. Slowly Kuwabara regained his senses and turned to the announcer. "Well aren't you gonna announce my win?"

"Oh right…" she said uncertainly. "First win, team Urameshi!"

Kuwabara hopped from the ring and crossed over to everyone, smiling proudly. They just shrugged and accepted the easy win as they sent Kurama up.

Again, with one swing of his rose whip the opponent lay slaughtered. The same with Yusuke's after one blast and Hiei's after one swing of the sword. Not satisfied, Hiei stepped forward again as the last member of team Atari did as well. He had shaggy dark green hair, streaked with black highlights from which protruded long, pointy black horns. His red eyes glowed softly from the shadows the hair cast over them. He was tan and had a good build and from the back of his pants a long slender tail with a triangular tip darted around constantly moving. Unlike the others he actually appeared to be a fighter. He laughed softly as Hiei approached him. "You're not the one I wish to fight." He declared.

"Tough." Hiei spat as he glared and drew his sword. The announcer yelled "begin!" and Hiei charged at him quickly. In a flash he was upon the man and had the blade darting at his head. Less than a second later the man's hand darted up and he caught the sword in his fingers. Everyone paused to stare as Hiei stopped, momentarily caught off guard. The man pulled back, kneeing Hiei in the stomach and Hiei fell to one knee, clutching at it.

"You may have dodged unneeded injury if you had listened to me." The man said as he kicked him hard to send him rolling off into the grass. "As you can see, those others made it this far on my skills. I only kept them because of the five person requirement for the finals. I am Kyoshi Atari and the only help I need is my own." He stood over Hiei and raised his hand, an ice blue staff of energy appearing in his hand. My eyes snapped open and I saw that the end was sharp and the point was aimed at Hiei's open back. I sat in shock for a moment, never having seen Hiei so messed up before and also surprised my dream was currently happening.

Quickly I regained my senses and ran towards them, stopped on the way by Kurama and Yusuke. I tried to pull away as each of them held one of my arms tightly. "No, you can't interfere!" Kurama warned as he and Yusuke attempted to push me to the ground.

My eyes swirled blue as I screamed at the man. He slammed the end down, stopping at my voice, the point resting on Hiei's back. I saw blood dribble out and took a shaky gasp. "If you hurt him any more I'll refuse to fight you, no matter what!" I cried out, closing my eyes. I felt Kurama and Yusuke release me and heard the announcer begin to count. I breathed out in relief and crossed over to Hiei as she said "ten". I kneeled by him, turning him gently over. His stomach and side were already purple and blue from being kicked around. Tears came to my eyes as Kurama crouched on the other side of him. Gently lifting him up he said, "I'll take care of him. Apparently you're the one he wants to fight and he won't accept anyone else. Be very careful though. I know you can do it." He assured me though worry showed through all over his face.

I wiped my eyes and smiled softly at him before getting to my feet. I crossed over and leapt onto the stage, steadily glaring at the man, Kyoshi, who so eagerly stared back. "Are you ready?" He breathed gently as he eyed me. I didn't respond and instead watched him with narrowed eyes.

"Begin!"


	29. Fight of Your Life

* * *

Kyoshi surged forward and I followed his movements very closely as he made his way towards me. At the last moment he leapt to the side and came at me from my left but I stuck up an arm and blocked the attack, biting back the yelp as his fist bruised my skin. We sprang apart and again he came at me, this time leaping into the air at me. I smirked and whipped out my sword, striking at him but he pulled a hidden dagger from his sleeve and countered. He smiled with glee. "So you are going to make this fun for me!" He cried. 

With a small growl deep in my throat I leapt after him, catching him off guard momentarily with the sudden change from my usual defensive strategy. The very tip of my blade snagged his long baggy sleeve and another dagger fell out. As he sprang towards it I held out my hand and a coil of neon green rope wrapped itself around it and pulled the dagger to me. I caught it in my hand and held both the dagger and my sword unsheathed and pointed at him.

Instead of showing any sign of fear or nervousness, he laughed joyously and clapped his hands. With a broad smile he said, "I finally get to use these old powers of mine again!" He bowed his head and closed his eyes as I watched curiously. Shaking my head I charged forward, bouncing back as an ice blue bubble of energy appeared around him. Snarling, I attacked it but soon found it was no use and waited tensely for what was to come.

Slowly he raised his hands and placed them, palms together in front of his chest. A slow smile spread across his face and his head slowly rose. Suddenly the eyes snapped open, glowing with an ice blue light as he regarded me. I took a step back as he pointed one finger at me. With a yelp I leapt to the side, seeing some of my hair hitting the ground. A powerful beam of energy had shot from his index finger and fired straight at me, just missing my head but detaching several strands of hair in its place. I looked back to see Kyoshi raising his hand and facing it flat palmed at me. I ducked,falling to the groundonmy stomach,as a hand sized blast shot over my head and heard the crumbling of the stadium walls along with the screams of demons as they were struck in the crowd.

With a glare I squared off my feet and faced him, putting the sword and dagger in the belt loops of my pants. I closed my eyes and held my right wrist with my left hand, both down by my side. I sensed his eyes on me for a moment before I focused harder, sensing his powering up. During his second fire I had noticed he had to open his shield to shoot out and that's how I would get him.

My ears twitched and my hand darted up, firing a neon green blast to meet Kyoshi's ice blue one. I saw him nod with my neon eyes as if he was satisfied and I frowned, sending more energy into my beam. As it neared him he sent more to his as well and they evened out again. I gritted my teeth and concentrated hard, doubling my attack and causing it to leap forward.

I saw Kyoshi's eyes widen for a moment and before he could react, my blast had hit him. I blinked a few times and my eyes stopped glowing and turned their normal green again. I stared at the smoking ring where I had hit and waited for signs of life for I didn't believe he could've been defeated so easily.

Suddenly a huge ice blue beam surged forward and struck my right shoulder. My eyes grew wide as I gasped for air, unable to catch any, and stumbled over backwards. My sleeve was totally burnt away and my arm was charred looking and smoking slightly. I clutched at it but found that touching it just increased the pain. My eyes swirled gray and I closed them, blocking out the startled cries of my teammates and instead focusing on my arm. Soon a green glow surrounded it and the burning ceased to a dull ache. I winced as it began quickly healing and my arm began changing from the almost black back to the normal pale.

"See? If I had known you could do that I wouldn't have bothered but that's what makes it fun I think." Kyoshi was standing over me, conversing with himself as I desperately tried to heal. He reached down and grabbed me by the front of my shirt, lifting me forcefully to my feet and holding me there. I forced open my still gray eyes and glared at him, wincing as he waved a hand in front of my eyes. I gasped and looked down noting the green glow that surrounded my arm had waned into nothing and the burning pain returned. He smiled at my reaction. "Hehe, I've sealed off your energy so now you're powerless against me."

"You've forgotten I'm still a demon!" I screamed, raising my right arm and striking him across the cheek with my claws, wincing at the pain it brought.

He released me and brought a hand to his cheek and wiped it gently, staring at the blood. He smiled slowly up at me, showing fangs for the first time and spoke. "Yes, it's been a long time since someone's made me see my own blood…" He laughed and continued. "But I am a demon too. I specialize in weapons, mostly the mixing of different chemicals and spells to find new outcomes. I brought one with me actually." He paused and pulled a small round ball from his pocket and fingered it, watching as I took a step backwards. "Who knows, maybe it'll heal that shoulder of yours!" He added, noting that I was clutching it once again. With a smile he threw it forward and it burst just at my feet. I buried my face into my shirt as the smoke swirled around me. I felt sick as the blue, green and red whips floated around as if I was in the center of my own personal tornado. I felt so helpless as I stood there with eyes slammed shut, my face hidden and my charred right arm hanging limply at my side. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and began to cough uncontrollably, taking in gulps of the colorful smoke each time.

My left hand found my throat and I fell to my knees as my throat and back started to burn just like my right arm. I groaned and slouched lower still as the pain near my shoulder blades increased. My forehead was now touching the ground in front of me as I sat on my knees with pain driven tears pouring from my eyes. Suddenly my eyes shot open and I heard the back of my shirt tearing as more pain shot through my upper back. It felt like something was piercing through my skin from the inside and I could feel the warm blood flowing down steadily.

Something soft slid through my skin near my shoulder blades where it felt as though there were two large holes in my back. I heard gasps from all around as the tearing sounds of my shirt grew louder and the holes in my skin seemed to grow larger. After a few more minutes of intense pain it finally ceased to a dull ache and I sat up slowly but still breathing hard with huge, shaky breaths. I felt somehow more weighted down than usual and when I sat up I was almost pulled backwards by some extra weight.

Almost afraid to, I turned my head and my eyes grew wide. From near each of my shoulder blades had sprouted a great black feathery wing, dotted with my blood from its forced appearance. A large hole in my shirt surrounded each from where they had torn their way through to reach the surface. Closing my eyes and concentrating hard I flapped them once and was lifted from the ground, set gently back on my feet. I wobbled for a moment from a sudden wave of dizziness that mixed with the pain and unbalancing of the wings and made mealmost fell back over, my hands flailing.

Kyoshi stepped forward and caught them, supporting me. Forgetting that I was supposed to be watching him hatefully, I held onto him so I wouldn't fall as he inspected the wings, looking over my head because of his height. "Well, I didn't expect this result, but it's pretty cool looking. A winged wolf demon…" He laughed as he steadied and then released me. "They looked like they hurt a lot coming in."

That got me angry again. "Well of course they did!" I screamed. "Didn't you see me?"

"Calm down…" He chuckled. "I don't know if they're permanent or not though…"

We both turned as the announcer stepped forward. "Umm… aren't you two supposed to be tearing each other apart?" She asked.

Kyoshi waved a hand at her as if to shoo her away and sighed. "We'll get to it when we're good and ready." He replied simply and turned his back to her, instead facing me.

I stood there breathing heavily and thoroughly inspected myself. My right arm was still charred to a brown and burning horribly. My shirt was missing its right sleeve entirely and had large holes surrounding the wings. The back was drenched in blood as well. I gritted my teeth as I clenched my right fist.

Next I looked up at him. He was still staring in wonder at my wings and appeared not to notice. His sleeve was only slightly ripped and his only physical injuries were the four claw marks I had left on his right cheek. The blood dribbled freely down his face but he ignored it, keeping the seemingly endless smile. He suddenly looked me in the eyes and nodded. "Ready to start again?"

I stepped back with one foot and stared at the ground. "You mean I have a choice?" I muttered sarcastically.

Kyoshi laughed at that and placed a palm to his forehead as she smiled at me. His hair swung in his face, slightly obscuring the red eyes that still seemed so casual and carefree. He was the type of person I couldn't stay mad at, especially because I hated being mad in the first place. I found myself almost smiling as well as I watched him until his shout brought me back to reality. "Go!"

He leapt at me, his dagger raised and I had just enough time to tumble to the side and out of the way. I landed, kneeling on the ground and darted my sword from its sheath to block his next attack before we sprang apart again. We continued doing this for a while with me occasionally whipping out his dagger that I had taken from my belt and swiping at him. The most damage I did was a small slice to his wrist while I obtained several marks on my arms and one on my right thigh. After all, I was fighting without the full use of my right arm and I was right handed.

My sword intercepted his dagger once more but I was sent stumbling backwards as his fist found my cheek. I clasped my hand to it, instinctively my right and only brought more pain by bending the burnt skin. My gray eyes filled with tears as we each stared at each other and he seemed to send an almost apologetic look before leaping at me again. I ducked out of the way, frantically trying to bring back any bit of energy to help heal myself but he had spoken true upon saying it was sealed away. I gritted my teeth as I kept dodging. He managed to knock the dagger from my almost lifeless right hand and took it in his own, now attacking me with two. I bit back a yelp as the cold metal pierced my right cheek and my eyes swirled a darker gray, flecked with crimson.

Kyoshi paused to stare at them and smiled to himself before continuing the attack. I was pushed slowly back and with another yelp I found myself tumbling off the edge of the ring. I rolled to the side as a dagger planted itself in the ground where my head had just been and climbed back to my feet. I held up my sword, countering as many of the attacks as possible but I felt myself quickly weakening.

My shirt was being shredded and my pants had large chunks missing but there seemed to be nothing for me to do. I had trained a lot with spirit energy but even more in sword use. Though the problem was I had trained with my right hand and now I had to use only the left.

I grunted softly as he started his attacks again, pushing me slowly across the grass that surrounded the ring we had stepped out of. Soon I found myself with my back pressed up against the wall surrounding the stage where the demons sat just above. I heard their shouts and screams and closed my eyes, growing suddenly dizzy. That was a big mistake.

Before I knew what was happening, an immense pain shot through my left palm and I dropped the sword quickly. My eyes snapped open as I screamed out as I saw the dagger sticking through my hand and pinning it to the wall. Gritting my teeth I watched Kyoshi back off as if ashamed and turned back to it. Taking a deep breath, I wrenched the dagger out and let it fall to the ground, dropping to my knees beside it. I held my hand tight against my stomach, unable to tend to it with my dead right. Tears filled my eyes as I sat there overcome by the pain I was in.

I regarded myself uselessly, noting my shredded and blood soakedclothing, limp and burnt right arm, pierced left hand, bleeding cheek, and sliced thigh and arms covered in at least twenty cuts. My cheek was bruised as well from his punch and so was one arm. Kyoshi however had one slightly torn sleeve, four claw marks on his cheek and a small cut on his wrist.

I sat on the ground with my head bowed and my eyes tightly shut when a hand appeared on each of my shoulders. I looked up to see Kyoshi smiling sadly at me. "I'm sorry. I just expected you to put up a better fight…" He shrugged. "But I guess I was overestimating you."

My eyes swirled a mixture of gray, blue and crimson as I glared at him. "What? You expect me to fight to my fullest ability with no spirit energy at all? I'll show you… I will get it back and I'll defeat you!" I declared as I closed my eyes tightly. I looked deep inside myself and saw only black. Suddenly a faint green light caught the corner of my eye and I turned towards it in my mind. Concentrating harder, the green light grew faintly brighter until all I could see was vibrant neon green with my closed eyes.

Suddenly they sprung open and I saw Kyoshi take a step back. I regarded him, seeing through a green haze as my eyes were both shining with a brilliant green glow. Slowly a smile spread across my face as my arms both glowed a bright green as well. Next my cheek lit up and slowly the pain ceased, and I was able to stand easily. I flexed both my arms and took up my sword, smirking at him. "Now the fight shall get better." I ignored the facts that my left palm still had blood trickling down from the half healed wound and my right arm still stung.

Kyoshi recovered and nodded with a smile as he stood ready though seeminglyweaponless. I closed my eyes and flapped the great feathery wings, surging forward with great speed that greatly surprised him. He barely got up an energy shield before my sword collided with it. I laughed. "Surprised?" I asked as I spread the black wings above my head, blocking out the light so my green eyes glowed eerily from the shadows. I brought them down rapidly and shot into the air, hovering in front of the sun. Kyoshi shielded his eyes as he peered at me. Suddenly I dove downwards towards him, lashing out with the sword. He blocked it but I got his shoulder hard with my claws before flying back up. I dove from a different angle this time and managed to rake my nails down his back and retreat again before he could react.

"Pretty nice plan you've got going…" He acknowledged. "Time for me to get one too."

I watched him closely with narrowed eyes as he closed his own and stood motionless. I blinked and started to charge again when suddenly he disappeared. I stopped dead and stared frantically around, sniffing the air. My eyes widened and I whirled around to see Kyoshi smiling, hovering beside me with great seraphic wings flapping. My eyes widened as I hadn't noticed them before. I swung my sword at him but he grinned and disappeared again, and this time I felt his strong arms wrap around me from behind. I struggled uselessly but was held tightly, my wings pressed against my back between our bodies so I couldn't move them to fly away.

Slowly we drifted down, resting on the ring once more. He folded in the leathery wings and next placed his head on my shoulder and whispered. "Surprised?" Echoing me from just a moment before.

I shivered and growled softly as I tried to pull away but he held me tightly, laughing softly. "Heh, you put up a good fight but now I'm going to have some fun. I just want to see what you'll do in response to this…"

My eyes widened and I doubled my efforts to escape but he tightened his hold as well and rummaged through his pocket. He came out with a small wooden box and quickly opened it with one hand. He pulled out a white cloth and tossed the box aside, shaking the rag to unfold it. He smiled as I wobbled slightly, already taking in the horrible scent. He held me steady and placed the fabric to my face, covering both my nose and mouth. I heard cries of alarm from Kurama and the others but they couldn't do anything, bound by the rules of the deadly tournament.

My eyes widened and then the lids drooped low as the entire scene began spinning. A splitting headache erupted inside me and I felt Kyoshi loosen his hold. Now unsupported, I stumbled forward a few steps before falling to my knees and then flat on my stomach. My left arm lay trapped under me, dying my stomach red with blood from the pierced palm, and my right half closed beside my face but I seemed unable to move either one. Kyoshi walked over and crouched beside me as I managed to whisper. "What did you do…?" I didn't hear the answer as the world began spinning rapidly at that moment and everything went black.

"Start counting!" Yusuke screamed at the announcer, noting that I was out cold. With a nod she complied and started, making it to eight before stopping suddenly at a withering glare from Kyoshi.

"No, keep going. She's unconscious and down so you have to count!" Botan urged but Kyoshi had other plans.

Taking me gently by the shoulders, he lifted me to my feet and held me leaning against him. "Now she's on her feet so you can't count. I know that's a rule so don't even try to argue." He said, smiling triumphantly towards my teammates and especially at Hiei who had long since woken.

So everyone was forced to wait with baited breath as I stood limply against Kyoshi's side. Finally an eyelid flickered and Kyoshi set me gently on the ground, balancing me on my knees as I came to. I put an arm out, leaning against it as I sat on my knees but it gave out and I fell flat on my face. I lifted my head slightly, blinking in confusion as I stared around. My eyes widened as I saw all the demons surrounding me in the stands and I cried out in alarm. "Where am I?"

Everyone stared at me in shock for a moment at my outburst until Kyoshi slowly approached me. "Hello love, are you ok?" He asked, crouching in front of me.

I placed a hand to my forehead and shook my head slightly. "I don't know where I am…" I looked up suddenly. "Who are you? Who am I?" I added, growing frantic. I had no clue where I was and the smells of the demons surrounding me was adding to the killer headache I already had.

Kyoshi placed a comforting hand on my back and smiled gently. "My name is Kyoshi and yours is Kira." I stared at him and he continued. "I'm going to help you, alright? But first, would you like to know who did this to you?" I nodded and he pointed with his finger at Kurama, Yusuke, Hiei, Kuwabara and Botan who stood watching fearfully with worried expressions. "It was them, ganging up on you. Those boys wanted to take advantage of you."

My eyes widened and narrowed as I regarded them carefully. "They seem scared to me…" I observed.

Kyoshi nodded. "Scared of if you find out it was them. You're a very powerful demon you know. What say you get a little revenge?" His eyes shimmered as he spoke and I stared into them.

Slowly I nodded and staggered to my feet, holding my head. I stared at the group, focusing hard as they all watched me as well. It occurred to me that if they were afraid of me attacking them for something I had done, they wouldn't have looked so relieved to see me standing. I had expected them to turn and run or something. Slowly I walked towards them with Kyoshi standing behind me still in the ring, arms crossed over his chest. Suddenly I broke into a run and targeted one.

I leapt and Hiei was caught off guard, tumbling backwards as I landed on him, knocking him over and placing my claws to his throat. Almost unconsciously my free hand found the locket that hung around my neck and snapped it open. I stared at it for a moment, lost deep in thought as I studied the faces of the two adults there. Then I focused on the two boys that stood on either side of what appeared to be a slightly younger me. They looked so familiar… Then it clicked. They were my family! I growled deep in my throat and leaned close into Hiei so Kyoshi couldn't hear me speak. "You, does your name start with an "H"?" He nodded in surprise and I continued. "And we're…" I paused, thinking hard. "Teammates I think? And I was fighting that guy alone?" He nodded again and my eyes flashed red. "He erased my memory to try and turn me against my own team…" I muttered to myself.

Hiei interrupted quietly. "Well what are you going to do about it?" He asked, eyeing my claws warily that were still against his neck.

I pulled them back slightly but not enough for Kyoshi to notice. "I'm going to hurt him very badly though for some reason I don't want to kill him…" I leaned forward as my hand started to glow green and hid it with my body. Then with a sudden movement I turned and a huge blast erupted from my palm all in one fluid motion.

Kyoshi's eyes grew wide and he had time only to throw his arms over his face before the beam hit him head on. I stood and offered a hand to Hiei, helping him to his feet as the others stared, unsure of what was going on. I then turned and hopped back to the ring, waiting for the smoke to clear so I could see if Kyoshi had made it. My ear twitched and I realized too late that Kyoshi was behind me. An ice blue beam struck me hard, enveloping my entire right arm and shoulder, a large part of my chest and side as well as my waist. With a gasping moan I fell to my knees, curled in a ball on the ground.

Kyoshi stumbled forward and landed hard on his knees beside me. I turned my head and managed to get a look at him. His shirt had been entirely disintegrated and his hair was matted and tangled together, sticking off in random directions. He was smoking from the entire top half of his body as I was from almost my entire right half except for the legs and both of us were covered in burn marks. He regarded me in silence for a moment before speaking, his smile coming back. "Well that was very deceptive."

"And appearing behind me and erasing my memory wasn't?" I commented dryly but with great difficulty through my shallow breathing.

He sighed and watched me. "Well neither of us can move properly so I'll finish this fight." He laid his burning hand gently on my stinging arm, causing us both to wince and the warm glow that was healing my body suddenly disappeared. He had sealed off my energy again! This time there seemed no hope in recovering it. Next he reached out lazily and snatched up a dagger that lay nearby. Gently he hefted it in his hand and held it lightly over me. I watched fearfully as he spoke. "Well this was a lot of fun. It's been a while since I've been through a fight this challenging."

I saw his eyes close as if he was summoning up the courage to land the final blow and I grew desperate. Searching the ring with my eyes, I saw my sword lying some feet away. Sliding my hand towards it I closed my eyes as well and pictured it coming towards me. I heard the soft scraping of metal on stone and found with surprise that the sword's handle was resting in my hand and just in time too. I mentally thanked my father for giving the sword such great powers.

Kyoshi's eyes leapt open and the dagger came darting towards my chest. With a cry of alarm I stabbed upwards with my sword as well, still lying flat out on my back.

A dead silence overtook the stadium as Kyoshi and I both looked down. My sudden action had startled him enough that the dagger had pierced deeply into my shoulder rather than my heart where he had intended. My sword however was stabbing straight through his stomach. My eyes grew wide as he gasped for air, coughing and spitting blood as it dribbled down his chin. "I'm sorry!" I gasped as he fell forward, lying across my stomach. I grunted from the weight pressing on my burning skin.

He managed a smile and whispered, "One hell of a fight…"

Tears filled my eyes as I saw blood forming under his face from his mouth, adding to my already soaked shirt. "I'll bring you back to life, ok?" I promised shakily as my vision blurred.

He smiled and barely nodded. "Thanks…" He said before his body grew still and I closed my eyes, tears flowing.

The announcer stepped forward, thinking us both unconscious and started counting. Hearing this I opened my eyes and slid to the side and out from under him. I used my left hand to force myself into a sitting position, next lifting one knee so I was kneeling and on the number nine I crouched low, sitting on both feet. Gritting my teeth I grasped the dagger that stuck from my shoulder tightly in a hand and yanked it out, dropping it weakly."Ten!" She yelled. "Team Urameshi wins the Dark Tournament!" I breathed out in relief and toppled backwards, the folded in wings acting as a cushion beneath me.


	30. Tournament Ends

* * *

The team gathered around me happily, offering help and congratulations but I ignored them all, instead dragging myself back over to Kyoshi's body. I let out a small sob as I stared at him. He was just a boy and seeing him like this, I noticed he was only a few years older than me, appearing to be around eighteen as I looked fifteen. 

I took the sword in my hand and closed my eyes for a moment before opening them to look back at him. Taking a shaky breath and aware that all were watching me, I swung the blade, piercing his skin. A purple flash illuminated the stadium and blinded most but I ignored it, staring intently at Kyoshi. After a few moments there was still no reaction and I bowed my head in defeat, letting the tears fall openly as I sheathed the sword. It hung painfully at my waist but I ignored it in my grief.

I jumped as familiar strong arms embraced me from the front and looked up in shock as I was released again. Kyoshi sat on his knees in front of me, smiling broadly. "Where would I be without you?" He asked teasingly.

"Well you wouldn't have died in the first place!" I whimpered as I hugged him too, ignoring the pain it brought. "I thought it hadn't worked…"

He laughed as he wiped my tears away. "Well it did so please love, no crying alright?"

I nodded softly and smiled before suddenly falling forward. Kyoshi jumped and caught me, gently holding me in his arms. He looked me over and sighed sadly at the damage he had caused. Almost the entire right side of my body except my legs and face were burning and singed, still lightly smoking. My shirt on the right was shredded almost to nothing, revealing a scorched sports bra underneath. He blushed slightly as he saw and moved on. My left shoulder was bleeding rapidly from the dagger I had just ripped out. My cheek was still bleeding lightly as I hadn't bothered healing it earlier when I instead focused on the heavy wounds. The legs of the pants I wore were shredded as well and my left hand was still dribbling blood from either side. It was from where he had stabbed through me with his dagger. I had healed it inside but not totally on the surface. Lastly there were two slightly bleeding holes in my back from which the wings had sprouted from and my entire shirt was dyed red.

Next he looked down at himself and bowed his head guiltily. All damage he had taken had healed upon his being revived by my sword. The only signs of a fight he retained were the rags of a shirt that hung limply about him.

He stood, lifting me into his arms and faced my teammates. "Well, congrats on your win." He began cheerily but grew serious under their glares as they watched him warily unsure of what he'd do with me. "She needs immediate medical attention obviously so someone should get on that. Also, you need to go rescue your friends before someone grows desperate and hurts them."

With a start, Yusuke and Kuwabara raced off up the stairs to the top box seats and busted straight through the glass, greatly startling the people inside as they searched for Keiko and Shizuru.

Meanwhile Kurama, Botan, Yukina, and Hiei stayed watching Kyoshi who was holding me bridal style still. He steadily met their glares. "I'm not going to hurt her. You think I would after she brought me back to life? Obviously that's also a sign she doesn't want you to go killing me again." He pointed out, particularly to Hiei who appeared ready to spring. "But I am staying with her until she's fully healed." He stared at the three unblinking and none challenged his proposal.

There was a soft thump and all turned to see Shiru the cat demon landing beside Kyoshi. He glared at the boy and approached, gently sweeping the hair from my face. "How could you do this to her?" He spat.

Kyoshi started in surprise. "Well uh…"

"She's so gentle… Do you have any idea how hard that must've been for her? Especially after the guilt of killing. That's probably the only reason you're still alive! And she hates hurting so much…"

"Well you must've missed her second fight!" Kyoshi growled back.

"That was an act of rage." Shiru stated simply. "He insulted her family, what would you have done?"

Kyoshi took a deep breath and turned to him. "You know there must be no hard feelings since she did bring me back to life before even considering healing herself."

"It was guilt driving her." Shiru muttered, his eyes flashing.

My ear twitched as I listened to their conversation. "That's enough Shiru, it's alright. I've forgiven him. I realize it was a fight and neither of us had much choice." I whispered with much difficulty before quieting again.

Meanwhile Kurama, Hiei, Botan, and Yukinastood off to the side watching in total confusion. None of them knew about Shiru's visit at our hotel room and had only seen me and him fight so they considered us to be enemies.

A few minutes later and Yusuke and Kuwabara came strolling back with Keiko and Shizuru trailing behind. Both looked fine and though maybe a little pale, no physical damage could be seen.

I manage to smile at them both before passing out fully in Kyoshi's arms. He shifted me in his grasp and approached my team. "Where can we tend to her here?" He asked firmly.

Yukina stepped timidly forward. "If you'd put her down…" she started and Kyoshi immediately did so. Yukina crouched to her knees as I lay flat on my back and looked me over with a hurting face, deciding where to start healing first. She noted I was growing paler than usual and started with the deep dagger wound to my shoulder. She placed her hands on it, instantly dying them red with blood, and I winced in my sleep at the touch. She pulled back sharply at my reaction and a tear slid from her cheek, hitting the ground as a perfect jewel. It bounced and rolled a few feet to Kyoshi who was crouching on my other side. He picked it up and fingered it curiously as Yukina placed her hands on my heavily bleeding shoulder once more. She closed her eyes and I felt sudden warmth as I began to heal. The blood slowed to a swift trickle as the wound healed partly before Yukina suddenly wobbled where she sat. She caught herself and placed a hand to her head. "That was a deep wound almost through to her back. I don't have enough practice to heal her…" she said regretfully as she backed away.

Kyoshi placed a hand to my forehead. "She's got a fever." He said suddenly. "And she's very pale, even for her." He pulled his hand away and wiped away the cold sweat that he had gathered accidentally from my forehead.

Botan was at my side in an instant, a first aid kit in hand as she felt my head too. "Prop her up!" She commanded and Kyoshi quickly obeyed, sitting me up and supporting me with his arms. Botan opened the kit and pulled out a long strip of gauze. She quickly wrapped it around my chest, shoulder, waist and right arm, covering all the burn marks and slowing the blood flow from my shoulder. I groaned slightly as she touched my injuries but she continued her work. Next she took my left hand and wrapped it tightly with the bandages, placing a real band aid across my cheek. She crawled behind me and started to lift my shirt, pausing as she saw the boys all staring. "Oh please, I've already covered her chest with the bandages!" she exclaimed before slipping it off, though it was more like ripping it off since the fabric was shredded anyway. She added another layer of gauze that wound its way around the base of the wings and added to my shoulder where the blood was already leaking through.

Now that my shirt was off, everyone could clearly see the wings though Kyoshi showed the greatest interest. They looked like they had been there all my life they fit so perfectly, except for the fact that they were surrounded by blood that had almost totally coated my back, causing it to gleam red with the still wet substance. The wings themselves curved elegantly towards the sky from my shoulder blades as if reaching out, longing to be up there. From the great arching tips branched pure black feathers that draped down over and around me, blocking the light somewhat, causing it to send shaded patterns across my back. They seemed reluctant to touch the ground and if I teetered back they'd lift automatically into the air to keep from touching. I winced each time this happened, as their moving hurt my torn skin and Kyoshi would see and quickly straighten me again.

Botan nodded at him to pick me up again and he took me gently back into his arms, fully bandaged. He blushed slightly as I wore no shirt now and he didn't have much experience with girls having spent a large partof his life training. Though I was mostly coated in bandages, he still noted much skin contact. Shaking it off, he crossed to Yukina and slipped the jewel into her hand, closing her fingers around it gently as he smiled at her. She smiled sadly back and Botan stepped forward, interrupting to take command. "Ok, we have to get her off this island quickly. She seems to have gotten a fever. Now march!" She ordered as she pushed us all swiftly from the ring.

We dodged the demons that still stood around, discussing the last fight. Their eyes would widen as they saw Kyoshi and Shiru with us and would start calling them demon traitors. Then they would shut up at one glance from Kyoshi's glare.

We quickly exited the arena and made one fast stop at our hotel rooms. All of our stuff was gathered and we headed to the waiting boat. The captain greeted us uneasily but as he saw how impatient we seemed, he swiftly started the ship moving and we left the morbid island.

We had only spent one week there and I had slept through a lot of it, but as my eyes fluttered open in time to see it fade into the distance I managed one quick smile before falling back into unconsciousness.

Everyone spent most of the ride in our room, tending to me as I lay whimpering in an uncomfortable sleep filled with nightmares and pain. I trembled at night from a chill only I felt and burned during the day from some personal heat wave.

Finally we landed back on land at the familiar forest and all piled off. Shiru wasn't with us anymore and had returned with his tribe to demon world. He had given me a small dagger made from a material found only in his home that he had tied around my neck and had wished me good luck before parting with a soft kiss to my forehead.

Thinking of me, Kurama had takenShiru's picture before he departed.

Now Kyoshi left the boat, holding me tightly to him with Botan, Yukina, Kurama, Yusuke, Keiko, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Shizuru right behind. Suddenly I erupted into a new wave of yelps and whimpers as Kyoshi held me frantically. "What's wrong?" He screamed, setting me down so Botan could see.

My body began to glow with a soft light that grew quickly brighter until it was blinding. When it cleared I was a human, my claws, fangs, markings, ears and tail all gone though the wings remained. My eyes were an ice blue and my hair shimmering silver as I lay crying softly. It had hurt badly enough before but now with sensitive human's skin again the pain was overwhelming.

Botan looked from my heavily breathing body to the dark sky above and scanned it for a moment. "It's the night of the new moon." She announced grimly.

"So what?" Kyoshi demanded.

Botan shook her head. "Since she is a half demon she turns fully human for part of the night of the new moon."

Kurama crouched beside me as well and gently moved my hair from my face. I whimpered at the touch and he sighed. "Well since we're off the ship we can teleport to her house." He pointed out.

They quickly explained to Kyoshi what that meant as he picked me back up. Kurama adjusted the watch and took my hand as everyone else took hold of him themselves. He pressed a button and with a sudden flurry of wind, we were gone leaving the forest empty behind us.

We appeared again standing in the grass in front of my house and Kurama led the uneasy Kyoshi to the door as the rest trailed behind. Kyoshi had never experienced humans before besides just seeing Yusuke and Kuwabara in the tournament yet now suddenly he was holding one protectively and entering her home. The whole idea made him uneasy as he had been taught to hate them for most of his life.

He was jolted from his thoughts by the shrieks of a woman as she ran towards him. Instinctively he took a step back and held me tighter causing my whimpering to increase. He quickly relaxed as the woman was identified as my mom and allowed her to see me. She peered at me with watering eyes and led the way to my room where Kyoshi set me gently on the bed. Despite the cold sweat covering my face, I shivered violently and the sheets were draped gently over me. With one last yelp my eyes dropped close and I was out cold.


	31. Back to the Past

* * *

A wince spread across my face as my eyes slowly fluttered open. They suddenly shot wide and the first thought that entered my head was, "I have no shirt on!" The blankets quickly reassured me and I attempted a laugh at myself but it only brought pain. I also remembered the bandages that completely covered every wound and more. Then I was notified of another thing. Something hard and cold was jabbing painfully into my side along with something fairly heavy that caused the burnt skin to sting. Without lifting my head, I glanced down at my stomach and nearly jumped out of my skin. Kyoshi must've been sitting on his knees beside the bed and fallen asleep. Now he lay with his head resting on my burnt stomach and one of the horns poking my side. My sudden movement caused him to stir and I saw his eyes slowly open. He sat upright with a sudden jolt as he recalled where he was and glanced at me before staring at the ground. "S-sorry love…" He muttered. 

I stared at the ceiling and managed a small smile. "It's ok." I managed to reply. I felt something else pushing softly against my bare back and spoke up again. "What am… I laying on?"

He looked quizzically at me. "Your wings…"

I started. "What? They're still here?"

He nodded and smiled softly. "Why, you thought they'd just disappear?"

"Well, when I turned human I thought my demonic features would leave."

"It's not a demonic feature. It's a natural part of you now." He said calmly. "Your real demonic features did leave."

"But how can a human naturally have wings?" I exclaimed. In the confusion I had momentarily forgotten my pain and was talking without much trouble.

"It just is." He shrugged. "It's because of that smoke I gave you. You don't like them?" He added as an afterthought in an almost hurt voice.

"No, I think they're cool it's just that I'm not used to them. I don't want them to be permanent!"

Kyoshi paused as if lost in thought for a moment before smiling at me. "Well, I've learned how to kind of pull mine in and get them back out only when I need them." He pointed at his wingless back to prove it. "Maybe I can teach you sometime when you're feeling better."

I brightened at the suggestion. "Ok!" I agreed enthusiastically. "But something's been bothering me…"

He tilted his head lightly to the side. "Oh? And what's that?"

I remained staring at the ceiling as I responded. "Why did you want to fight me and not any of the guys? I mean, I know they're stronger than me!"

He smiled softly at me and shook his head. "Oh no love, you're much stronger, you just have to learn how to control it. But as to that question, I already know all of their tricks from the last tournament. You on the other hand are completely new. I could feel the power you hold inside and it peaked my curiosity. You were the only one I wished to fight."

"Oh I see…" I sighed softly, loosing myself in thought.

He grew silent for a moment and then smiled at me. "You looked pretty even as a human." He said with a red face as he looked away in embarrassment.

I smiled very softly and whispered "thank you" as my cheeks turned pink as well. Another moment passed and I closed my eyes before lying still again.

Kyoshi returned to sitting on his knees by my bed and after a few hours he had slumped forward with his head resting painfully on my burnt side again. I gritted my teeth to keep from crying out and soon I didn't mind too much. The sharp stinging of my skin had faded to just a dull ache though the horn prodding my side still bothered me without letting up. I was too weak to raise a hand to move him and I didn't feel like talking anymore so I just stayed still and took it.

"It would be so easy for me to kill him right now." A sharp voice rang out suddenly and my eyes shot open. I saw Hiei standing just on the other side of the sleeping Kyoshi fingering something gently. My eyes widened further as I saw he was holding the dagger Shiru had given me. I saw the hateful look on his face and stared as he continued. "I don't see how you can be so at ease with him. He would have killed you and had no way to bring you back to life. Instead you kill and revive him, leaving him in perfect health while you suffer from his doings and then trust him to take care of you!" Hiei's voice grew steadily more menacing as he spoke and I shivered softly. I opened my mouth to speak but he continued. "This boy would have killed all of us just for entertainment. That's all the battle with you was to him, he admitted it himself!" His fist clenched and he slammed the dagger down, resting the tip on Kyoshi's open back. Before I could cry out he had placed it gently back in my hand and left the room. My eyes followed him as I stayed silent, breathing hard from the shock of what had just happened. Finally I managed to calm myself down and drifted once more into sleep.

A sharp pain exploded in my side and I forced my eyes open as I looked over. Yusuke stood there grinning as I stared blankly back. "Happy birthday! You're now sixteen." He announced.

My mouth fell open. "Really?" I cried.

"Yep, so happy birthday from us all and get well soon. You're so boring like this!" Yusuke laughed.

I smiled and looked around to see Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara, Botan and Kyoshi all crowded around me. Each in turn they wished me a happy birthday and cracked jokes about spending my sweet sixteen in bed with injuries. Next came in my mom, dad, three brothers and one sister. My siblings stayed back as if afraid to come close lest I get hurt further but my parents approached, each saying their piece before they all departed once more. I waited to see if Hiei would visit as well but hours passed spent staring at the ceiling and he never did. With a soft sigh my blue eyes fell closed again and I drifted off.

* * *

A few days later I awoke to find the burning of my skin had sunk to a dull ache and I forced myself to sit up. Very slowly I lifted the covers and inched my way across the mattress until my feet rested on the ground. I paused and bowed my head low, grasping it with both hands to cease the dizziness that was overtaking me once again. I grabbed onto the desk that sat against the wall and hoisted myself to my feet, shrieking softly as I began to fall to my side. 

"Whoops, injured people shouldn't be out of bed until they're well. Let me help you back in." I opened my eyes to see Kyoshi grinning down at me while supporting me with both arms.

"I hate just lying there…" I muttered, trying to push away but the movement only stung my burning flesh.

"It's alright love, I understand. You haven't eaten in quite a while, would you like to go down and see what's available?" I nodded slowly and he held my arm around his neck and his own around my waist to support me as we made our way down the stairs.

As I limped into the kitchen accompanied by him, I was suddenly aware of many eyes upon me. "Umm… Hello?" I muttered, forcing a smile.

"She's returned!" Yusuke cried out, crossing the room towards us. "Does this mean you're totally better now?" He laughed.

I frowned at him, "What does it look like?"

Kurama slowly circled us and finally stopped behind me. "So I see you still have these…" He mused, as he reached out to tug gently on one of the feathery wings.

"Ow!" I cried out. "Please don't touch them!"

"Sorry!" Kurama murmured pulling back sharply with both hands lifted harmlessly in the air. "Though why don't you just heal yourself quickly so you won't have to deal with this?"

I shot an accusing glare at Kyoshi. "Because _someone _sealed my powers."

"Hey, if you're pushed hard enough you'll be able to break lose of my spell. Oh, and don't bother asking me to remove it, I can't."

"What? You can't even remove your own spells?" Yusuke cried out in shock. "What kind of demon are you?"

Kyoshi closed his eyes with restrained anger. "Because usually I would never have the need to withdraw a spell once it has been placed."

"Shouldn't your natural healing abilities have you almost entirely well by now?" Kurama asked.

I nodded. "It should but I'm not sure what's happening. Maybe the switch to being human messed something up though I don't know why that would affect anything…" I sighed in frustration. "Man, this sucks."

"I work off injuries by training." Kyoshi suggested. "I could teach her to withdraw and bring out her wings without killing herself in the process."

"That would be a good thing to teach her in the future though if you went now it may stress the wounds and cause the bleeding to start again." Kurama replied.

"Meh, who cares? I just want to do something!" I whimpered. "Sitting around doesn't suit me anymore!"

"Then start out slow, maybe with a simple walk around the area?" Kurama suggested.

I started to nod but then paused, looking down at my wrapped up chest. "I don't have a shirt on…"

Everyone stifled laughs as my face grew red and my mom went to bring me a baggy t-shirt to slip over the bandages without disturbing them. Once it was on I grinned. "Alright, I'm ready to go out for a bit." I laughed.

Kyoshi volunteered since he was the one already supporting me and no one protested as they had all grown used to him. We made our way down the narrow hall and out the front door, my wings brushing the door frame as I passed. Staggering down the brick steps we continued down the paved sidewalk slowing only when we reached the road. Kyoshi looked down to see me breathing heavily. "Tired love?"

"No, I'm fine." I muttered. "Besides, they'll just stick me in bed for a few more weeks."

He laughed and shifted his grip on my waist as we continued down the road. We made it all the way through the neighborhood and were on our way back when I suddenly collapsed, my legs buckling beneath me. With a startled cry Kyoshi caught me. "Aw love, you've tired yourself out. Don't push yourself so hard while in the recovery stage." He ordered as he lifted me into his arms.

"But I'm fine…" I started, my voice trailing off as I fell asleep.

* * *

My eyes fluttered slowly open and I weakly let them drift along my surroundings. I was in a forest of clustered trees with big full leaves and birds song filled the air. I became aware of the arms around me and weakly twisted my head to see Kyoshi dozing behind me. I poked him gently in the side, laughing as he jumped awake. "Where are we?" I whispered in a hoarse voice. 

He smiled. "In the woods just behind your house. I don't know it just seemed like a good idea. Was I right, love?"

I nodded. "Yeah, this is where I was trained before the tournament…" I grabbed a low hanging branch and used it to pull myself to my feet and support myself as I stood. Kyoshi hovered around me in case I fell. Hesitantly I released the limb and stood on my own for the first time since the tournament had ended. I paused to sniff the air and sighed. "It's growing dark isn't it?" I couldn't tell for sure as the leaves were blocking out the sky. Immediately Kyoshi nodded and I continued. "Let's head back to my house but we can't be seen!" I warned as I fell towards him and he caught me swiftly before I hit the ground. He once again wrapped my arm around his neck and his arm around my waist and we set off.

As we wobbled up to the house I motioned for him to be quiet as I noticed all the lights off. _It must really be late…_I thought as I pried open the door and entered to the kitchen. I walked lightly so the floor wouldn't creak under me. Making my way to the desk, I found a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled out a quick note. _I've gone to visit my brothers. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine._ Leaving it on the table I grabbed a camera and my sword and got Kyoshi to escort me back outside and down my backyard to the woods before I finally spoke. "We're going to visit my brothers."

"Your… brothers?" He asked. "I thought that was them back there."

I nodded. "Well kind of. Those are my human brothers but my real brothers are demons like me. No one told you my past story?" I teased and he shook his head. With a playful sigh I began to tell him of being reborn into all the different families before I was finally found, transformed, and then trained to fight.

"Wow." Was all Kyoshi could say as I finished.

I laughed as we made our way deeper into the woods. Occasionally we'd stop so I could sniff the air and then we'd start off again. Finally we arrived at the old beat up well and I stopped to point at it. "Here we are!"

"What?" He asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

I simply took a step forward, urging him with me. Stepping up on the side of the wooden well I pulled him up beside me and jumped forward and in. With a startled cry he held me close to protect me when we hit the ground but the impact never came. Instead we were greeted by a series of bright purple and white lights that swirled around us as we floated through time. Then as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped and we found ourselves sitting on the dirty bottom of a dry well. "What the?" Kyoshi murmured. He was sitting with me in his lap, held tightly to him as he blinked in confusion.

I felt my face glowing bright red as I stammered. "W-we're here."

He noticed my embarrassment and his own face turned crimson as he released me and stood. As I struggled to stand on my own he scooped me back up and leapt up and out of the well, blinking in the bright light. "Where is here?" He asked with wide eyes peering around in bewilderment.

"My home ancient Japan." I said proudly. "Now let's go find my brothers." He set me down again with his hand around my waist to keep me from falling as I sniffed the air deeply. Turning my face to the right I nodded in that direction. "There's one of them now." I acknowledged. "It's my younger brother Inuyasha. Let's go visit him!" I exclaimed happily.

After a short pause Kyoshi and I set off in the indicated direction moving slowly as I limped along. After a couple hours we came to a dark forest and I stopped on the outskirts. "Yeah, he's in there." I assured myself as we entered.

"Kira! It's been a while!" A voice echoed from the trees beside us.

I froze and looked around. "Kouga?"

"The one and only." The wolf demon replied as he appeared in a whirlwind beside Kyoshi and me. "Who's that?" He asked as he jerked a finger towards the horned demon that half held me.

"This is Kyoshi. He's helping me find Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru." I replied.

Kouga nodded but suddenly stopped, coming close and sniffing me. "What? Why are you bleeding?" He exclaimed in alarm.

"Um… A fight in a tournament…" I answered, looking at the ground as Kyoshi shifted nervously.

Kouga quickly caught on. "It was _him_ wasn't it?" He snarled. "I can tell from his face. Why is he still with you? Come with me and I'll help you instead."

I disregarded the hand he offered me as I stepped between him and Kyoshi. "No, it's alright. Everything's fine and our fights over. Now he's helping me until I get better."

"Well, why don't you just heal yourself like you did me?" Kouga asked.

I hung my head, fighting the urge to shoot a glare at Kyoshi. "My powers were sealed inside and I can't bring them back out…"

"So this was his fault too…" Kouga muttered. "Come with me. I'll even take you to that mutt." Before anyone could react Kouga had grabbed my hand and gently pulled me into his arms. As Kyoshi cried out and stepped forward to intervene, Kouga ran off in a small whirlwind, leaving Kyoshi to follow uselessly behind. "You're safe now Kira." He murmured as he set me down, catching me as I fell to the side. "You really are badly hurt…" He noticed as he saw the bandages that covered nearly the entire top half of my body from the waist to neck.

I clenched my fist, causing the burnt skin to sting. "Kouga, you can't just steal me away every time you see fit!" I snarled. "He's never been here before because he's from Kagome's time period. He could get lost!"

"So what, he's the one who did this to you! Why are you protecting him?" Kouga yelled back.

I shook my head and stared at the ground. "You said you'd take me to Inuyasha." I muttered.

Slowly Kouga nodded, seeing there was no point in further argument as he picked me up again. Shooting across the ground we ventered deeper into the forest, skidding to a halt as we came upon a group of people. "Kouga, what are you…?" Inuyasha's voice trailed off in shock as his eyes fell on me. "Kira? What are you doing here? And why does Kouga have you?" He growled, drawing his sword.

"Put that away." I sighed as I slipped from Kouga's arms and stumbled over to Inuyasha. He caught me in surprise as I fell.

"What's wrong?" He asked. "Why are you hurt so badly?"

"That tournament ended recently." I whispered. "The final battle was really hard on me. I can't heal myself because my energy was sealed inside and I don't seem to be healing as fast as my demon powers should be allowing…"

"Who did this to you, I'll kill him!" Inuyasha snarled.

"No you won't. I already did." I whimpered. "But I brought him back to life and now he's lost in this forest because Kouga took me away from him."

"Why did you bring back the one who injured you so?" Miroku asked, stepping forward.

"Because…" I started but couldn't think of anything good to say so I left it at that.

Suddenly a shadow fell over us and I glanced up to see a dark figure descending upon us. The cause of it landed softly behind me and I twisted my head around to see Kyoshi standing with his arms crossed over his chest as the huge leathery wings flapped gently behind him.

Inuyasha's eyes suddenly grew wide and he stared at me, ignoring Kyoshi. "Hey wait a minute… Do you have wings?" He stammered and everyone crowded around me.

I laughed weakly. "It took you long enough to notice." I teased. "I got them during our fight." I finished, nodding towards Kyoshi.

Inuyasha's fist clenched and he moved me aside, preparing to charge the winged demon before him. I started to fall and clung to his arm so he couldn't move away without hurting me. "Why are you protecting him?" He pouted.

"Because the fight is over and done with and now he's on our side and helping me to get better." I replied simply.

"But how can you so easily forgive someone who hurt you so badly?" Inuyasha asked indignantly.

I smiled softly at him. "Well didn't you forgive Miroku after he tried to suck you into the wind tunnel upon your first meeting? And Shippou after he stole your jewel shards? And even Sango after she tried to kill you because of a false story? But now you're all close friends. That's how it is with Kyoshi."

Inuyasha paused for a moment. "Yeah, I guess so…" He led me over and made me sit down at the base of a tree. "Your bandages have shifted and you're bleeding again."

My eyes widened. "Oh no, what do I do?" I cried in alarm.

Kagome crouched quickly beside me. "Don't worry, I'll help." She offered, holding up a first aid kit. I laughed lightly as she went to work redressing my wounds. The others wondered around giving us more room than needed. Sango watched Miroku closely so he wouldn't sneak a peek at an exposed chest and Inuyasha never let his gaze leave Kouga or Kyoshi.

Finally Kagome rejoined the others. "She fell asleep halfway through." She announced with a worried expression. "She is pretty badly hurt though. Her skin is all burnt and she's been stabbed through her shoulder and hand. There's a deep scratch on her cheek as well and I think she had a fever…"

Inuyasha rounded on Kyoshi once more. "Why did you let her come here while she's so ill?"

Kyoshi held up his hands in defense. "Hey, she's the one who brought me to some random well in the woods. I had no idea what it was until she had pushed me in with her."

Muttering under his breath Inuyasha crossed over to where I sat and crouched beside me, moving aside my hair to rest his hand on my forehead. "She does fell really hot…" He whispered as he sat down beside me while I slept. Slowly everyone else settled down at random intervals around the area and Kouga took his leave. Kyoshi sat uncomfortably in the midst of people who seemed to hate him and became uneasily aware that one was an experienced demon hunter.

* * *

I awoke early the next morning before anyone else. Climbing slowly to unsteady feet I leaned against a tree and looked at everyone as they slept. I bit my tongue to keep from crying out as someone tapped my shoulder from behind. "Kyoshi!" I whispered angrily. 

He held up his hands apologetically. "Sorry… It's just… Do you want me to teach you how to withdraw your wings upon command?" He asked.

I watched him carefully. "What's wrong?"

He bowed his head slightly. "These people, I sense that they all hate me and don't want me to be around. It's making me nervous…" He admitted.

"Alright then, let's go." I said with a small laugh. I began to wobble forward but almost immediately began to fall. Kyoshi snatched me up into his arms and starting running from the clearing where the rest slept. "Hey!" I screamed. "Put me down!"

"What? You can't walk on your own."

I sighed in frustration. "Well I just feel so helpless like this." I frowned and lightly sniffed the air. "Oh, let's take a detour to visit my oldest brother."

"Alright, point out the way." I did and wherever I indicated, Kyoshi would go and pretty soon we had reached Sesshoumaru.

He ran straight at us, stopping warily a few feet in front. "Who are you?" He paused to sniff the air and caught the scent of my fresh blood. "And why is she injured?" He added, laying a hand on his sword as he glared at Kyoshi.

I slipped from his arms, hit the ground and fell forward so Sesshoumaru had to jump to catch me. "It's ok." I smiled gently. "He's helping me."

"Why are you hurt?"

I winced as he took my hand and removed the bandages to examine where it had been stabbed through. "A tournament of demons…" I began. "The finals were really hard but I'm ok, really."

"It doesn't look like it. And they seem to be old. Why aren't they healed yet?" Sesshoumaru asked with concern showing through on his face.

I shrugged softly trying not to hurt my shoulder. "I don't know it just isn't getting better. I can't use my powers either because they're trapped inside me until I can force them back out again. But I'll be fine." I added quickly.

Suddenly Sesshoumaru reached out and spun me in a full circle so my back was now to him. "And what are these?" He wondered aloud as he pulled lightly at one of my wings.

"What do they look like?" I teased lightly. "I got them during the final fight."

"Hmm…" Sesshoumaru studied them a moment longer before finally turning me back around to face him. He lowered me gently to the ground and kneeled before me, placing a hand to my forehead. "Take it easy while you heal. You look slightly paler than normal and you feel warm so don't overexert yourself anymore." I nodded and he smiled. "Good, now I have to go. I trust you'll be taken care of?" He asked, shooting another glare at Kyoshi who took an uneasy step back.

I smiled. "Yes, I'll be fine." I assured him. "I'll see you later…" Sesshoumaru nodded and got to his feet, glancing at us both once more and then turning to walk slowly towards the horizon.

"He's so weird…" I acknowledged fondly as I forced myself to my feet once again. I staggered over to Kyoshi again and he helped support me. "Well, where do we go to work on my wings?" I asked him.

He looked around at the grassy field we were in. "Here would work fine if you don't mind being in the open."

I regarded our surroundings as well. "This is fine. So what do we do?"

"First we sit." Kyoshi laughed as he lowered us both gently to the ground. He sat cross legged while I placed my knees folded beneath myself. "Next you have to focus hard on the wings. Block everything else out, just you and the wings. Imagine them pulling back inside your body. Let that be the only image in your mind. Hold it there and don't let it fade."

I closed my eyes and took his advice. In my mind I pictured the feathery black wings withdrawing into my back from where they came. The image slowly appeared in my mind and I kept it there without much effort. Suddenly I felt something slide into my back and screamed in alarm.

Kyoshi simply laughed. "Yeah, I know it feels weird at first but it doesn't hurt, does it love?" I shook my head and he nodded. "See? Now this time don't jump or anything, just keep focusing until they're totally gone. He closed his eyes and I followed suit.

Reluctantly I recalled the image to my mind and once again I felt the sliding of the feathers against my skin. I bit my lip to keep from crying out and clenched my fists to keep from squirming as an almost constant wave of shivers overtook me. I somehow managed to keep the image in my head and the feeling continued, worsened by my shuddering body. I felt a reassuring hand placed on my uninjured shoulder and tried to relax but couldn't. I was shaking worse now as the wings of my mental image were almost entirely gone from her back. A few more minutes and a violent fit of shivers later I felt a hand lift my face gently and found myself staring at Kyoshi.

"Are you ok?" He asked urgently.

I unclenched my fists to find my palms were leaking blood from were my claws had pierced the skin. I was still trembling noticeably as I forced a weak smile towards him. "Ow…" I whispered and then collapsed forward onto him.


	32. Stolen Away

* * *

Kyoshi sighed and shook his head lightly as he held me to him. He looked over my shoulder and down my back to see fresh trickles of blood running down from where the wings had withdrawn. "I guess my first time was like this too…" He whispered as he got to his feet, lifting me into his arms. He walked from the meadow to a fairly nearby forest and leaned himself against a tree with me in front of him. 

He looked sharply up at the sound of a snapping branch and shouted, "Who's there?" He was answered by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps.

Kyoshi turned, setting me gently against the tree as he got to his feet, glaring around with narrowed eyes. "I said who's there?" With a cry of alarm he dove to the side as something burst from the cover of the trees and slammed into the tree I rested against, showering splintered fragments over my body. With a creak it began to fall and Kyoshi ran towards it, scooping me up and away just as the trunk hit where I had been sitting. "Attacking a helpless girl… Show yourself!" Kyoshi screamed in rage.

"Heh," A figure laughed, emerging from the trees. "You're at fault of the same thing."

"What? Explain yourself!" Kyoshi yelled, glaring him down.

The figure was obviously a demon, similar to me. He had two pointed ears and a fluffy wolf's tail though his was light gray. His shaggy shoulder length hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail at his neck and at his side hung a long, thin sword. He licked his fang as he took a step forward. "Just put some thought into it, you'll see what I mean." He smirked. "You alone in this forest, with this girl who's badly injured. You can't blame me for assuming such things."

Kyoshi snorted indignantly. "You think I'd sink as low as to do something like that? Move along, wolf. You're not wanted here."

"Oh, but I'm not leaving just yet." He replied. "I can't leave a fellow wolf in your care so injured. I must take her with me to help." At his last word eight more wolf demons stepped forward, each grinning wickedly, and ten wolves appeared from the forest as well. "You're in my territory." The leader laughed. "Now get out!"

Kyoshi glared back and placed himself in between me and them. "Make me." He snarled, taking up a fighter's stance.

"Gladly!" He shouted, leaping forward.

Kyoshi dodge the claws that lashed out only to be hit from behind by another of the demons. He cried out and spun around, slamming a fist to the offenders face to send him flying. He spun back around and caught the sword blade that was coming towards his head and easily snapped it in half, plunging the broken tip into the owner's stomach. Two wolves nosed their way under the injured demon's arms and retreated into the woods. Two more gathered up the knocked cold demon and carried him off too. However, there were still six wolf demons left, all circled around Kyoshi. They grinned and smirked at each other and all leapt in union towards Kyoshi with weapons and claws extended.

Seeing Kyoshi was occupied by his men, the wolf leader made his way to my side and crouched down.

I felt something lifting me and slowly my eyes opened. I looked up, expecting to see Kyoshi but instead was greeted by this stranger. "Kyoshi!" I screamed in alarm as the man clamped his hand over my mouth.

Kyoshi leapt high into the air, landing a fair distance from the circle of demons and paused in time to hear my cry. He spun around to face me and a wolf seized this chance and leapt at him, sinking its fangs into his arm. Kyoshi cried out and threw it off, knocking it into several of its pack mates to keep them back. "Kira!" He shouted as he ran full out towards me but the man who held me just smirked.

"See ya." He laughed as he lashed out, flinging dirt into Kyoshi's face.

Kyoshi recoiled, rubbing vigorously at his eyes. When he was finally able to reopen them again, the wolves were all gone and me as well. With a cry, he slammed his fist into the nearest treein frustration before he ran off, deeper into the forest towards where he assumed we had gone.


	33. Violated

* * *

I groaned slightly as the man pressed against my burnt skin as he held me. Slowly I became aware that we were moving very quickly through the forest just as dizziness started to overtake me. _Stay awake. Come on Kira, you have to…_ I ordered myself but finally I couldn't take it anymore and drifted into unconsciousness. 

Slowly my eyes inched their way open and I stared straight ahead, too weak to force any unnecessary movement upon myself and deciding it best to save what little energy I had for a quick getaway if I got the chance. I saw the blurry green outlines of trees above and closed my eyes again to clear my spinning head. I listened intently for surrounding sounds and was slowly able to make out the crackling of wood fires and the aroma of roasted fish filling the air. There was also a small stream rushing past nearby. I forced my eyes open once more, flinching as someone shouted.

"So, she awakens!" The wolf leader who had carried me away was kneeling beside me, staring down but smiling. I assumed he didn't mean any harm because of this. He shifted, plopping down cross legged at my side while I lay there weakly and regarded me closely. "So what were you doing with that demon alone and while you're so badly hurt?"

I frowned and forced out a word. "Learning."

"Learning? Learning what exactly?"

"How to… Withdraw my wings." I gasped. _I'm even more out of it than before, what's going on?_ I thought fearfully. _Did he do something to me?_

"A winged wolf demon?" He questioned and I barely managed a nod. He shook his head and dismissed his thoughts. "Well, I am Hitaru. And you are?"

"K-Kira." I grunted faintly.

He smiled. "Well Kira, you're feeling unusually drained, is that right?"

I jumped noticeably. "What… did you do?"

Hitaru raised his hands harmlessly in the air. "Don't worry, it will pass. You are very hurt and we're brining you to someone who will heal you. But you have to be unconscious for him to take you in. We didn't want to have to hurt you so we turned to this method instead. You're doing well though, it should have taken affect long ago."

I opened my mouth to yell at him and felt my lips moving yet no sounds came out. My eyes widened as I realized this and I paused, staring up into the seemingly concerned face of Hitaru. It seemed like I had no choice than to trust him and whoever he was taking me to, but what about Kyoshi? He got left behind again and I had no way of showing him where I was… Suddenly darkness surrounded me and the more I fought it, the faster it took over. Soon I was totally consumed and out cold once again beside a stranger. This seemed to happen to me way too often.

* * *

My ears started working before the rest of my senses and I remained still, listening to the sounds around me. I heard wind rustling the leaves of many trees and realized we were still in a forest. A steam bubbled past nearby and I tried to reach for it, only to find I couldn't move. I forced myself to stay calm and focused, hearing the breathing of another nearby. I sniffed the air and caught Hitaru's scent. _He's still here…_ I thought slowly. _Where am I?_ I somehow managed to force my eyes open and my guesses were confirmed. I was in a tiny clearing of a forest leaning against the base of a tree and maybe ten feet away, winding itself through the trees, was a nice little stream. Hitaru was on my right only a few feet away. 

He turned suddenly and, seeing I was awake, smiled at me and came to my side. "You're awake already!" He cried. "Does it feel any better?"

I suddenly realized that my body wasn't enveloped in the dull ache from the burns and stab wounds any more. Instead there was just a faint tingling where the deepest cuts had been but the burnt skin felt as if nothing at all was wrong. I tried to open my mouth, make a sound, but found I could do neither.

Hitaru nodded, as if understanding. "Yes, it may not have worn off yet. You did breathe in quite a bit of the stuff since you wouldn't black out right away. But as you can probably tell your body has been healed fully while you were asleep."

I nodded, my head moving so slightly it almost seemed that it hadn't moved at all, as I wondered nervously about what _stuff_ he was talking about.

My eyes had fallen lazily to watch the ground but they jerked quickly back up as I felt a hand stroke my cheek. I realized Hitaru had moved closer, sitting kneeling in front of me, between my outstretched legs. I tried to pull them to my chest, raise a hand to push him away but couldn't move. He smiled at me, brushing my hair from my face. "You're so beautiful…" He murmured. My eyes widened slightly as I sat helplessly with him inching even closer. He traced a clawed finger over the crescent moon on my forehead and I became suddenly aware that we were alone. His men and wolves seemed to have vanished while I was asleep.

My eyes seemed to be the only part of me that would move and I searched frantically for any signs of life to call to for help but nothing moved except for the wind blown leaves and the bubbling stream.

He pressed still closer, his hair now falling in lose strands from his ponytail to tickle my cheek. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, sliding his lips down past my eye and down my cheek, coating the skin with feathery kisses. One of his hands held my cheek gently yet firmly and the other found its way to my waist.

My widened eyes sunk to a lazy half open position, an effect I assumed of whatever he had given me to knock me out. They flashed rapidly between colors in my nervousness and fear but I couldn't even cause my body to tense. It was as if I was lifeless.

Hitaru pulled back slightly and brought his lips to hover over my own as he spoke in a gentle whisper. "Yes, you are beautiful. I didn't want to do this with you so injured. It wouldn't have felt right." He paused, kissing me lightly on the lips, his just barely brushing my own, and then continued again. "But now you are healed so it's ok, right?" He gave a slight laugh along with a smirk as he kissed me again, pressing slightly harder his lips to mine. His hand moved from my waist, sliding across to my upper back, tracing it along the tender freshly healed skin. He felt the blood there that came from the wings, and pulled away. He brought the bloody hand to his face and licked it, grinning. "Your blood tastes good." He murmured.

He lunged forward and his lips found mine, pressing hard this time. My eyes shot wide again but quickly sunk back to rest half closed. Hitaru didn't pull away this time. His lips rested firmly against mine and I felt his tongue maneuvering into my mouth, easily passing the slack jaw. My eyes rolled back and I seemed to grow even more relaxed instead of tense. _What… is he doing… to me?_ I thought, my head jumbled and cloudy and both arms hanging limp at my sides. I felt his hand resting on my cheek as he still kissed me, running through my hair, rubbing my head softly. His other went to my back, tracing down the shirt, pausing at the holes where the wings had been to feel bare skin and then moving on lower. It reached the bottom of my shirt and the fingers began to creep just below my pants line in the back, sliding around my waist to the front where they inched slightly deeper, massaging the skin briefly and then returning to my back to pull me forward to him.

His body was pressed tightly against mine now, his tongue searching rapidly around the inside of my mouth. I felt the silent tears falling and I know Hitaru did as well as they ran down my cheeks and onto his. He pulled away finally, smiling as he wiped away my tears. Still more came and he whispered, "What's wrong? You don't like me?" He smirked again and I grew even more afraid. He didn't take pity, he just wanted to please himself. "You'll grow to love me, I know it." He growled suddenly. Thoughts immediately flew around my head. _What? Does that mean he doesn't intend to let me go?_ The tears doubled at this thought as he pressed his lips to my forehead again, and inched by my eye and down the cheek to the chin, running along it and creeping down my neck to my chest. He paused, feeling the cloth covering it and I felt his hands leave my cheek and back, sliding across my skin to find my waist and then moving up my sides to my chest. They searched briefly, nudged the locket aside, and found the neckline of my t-shirt and the claws took hold.

My ears stood rigid as I heard the tearing of fabric, maddeningly slow. I closed my eyes as his lips found mine again and his tongue disappeared once more inside me. As he kissed me his hands worked rapidly at the cloth, tearing lower and lower. My eyes grew ever wider with terror and before I knew it I had slammed both hands into his chest, my claws piercing him in ten places.

Hitaru fell back, his lips leaving mine with a small smacking sound, and brought a hand to his chest. He pulled it back and found blood, his blood now and stared at me with wide eyes as I sat against the tree in shock, trying to make the already torn parts of my shirt's front stay together while my eyes never left his.

Suddenly he smiled and smirked again. "Already recovered? You're tougher than I thought but that's ok, I like my women strong." He took a folded piece of cloth from his shirt and crawled towards me. "But I always keep the upper hand, remember that." He held it towards me and even from a few feet away I could smell what was on it and felt my eyes sinking closed. _No, I have to get away!_ I thought frantically as I scrambled weakly backwards. He just laughed. "Trying to escape? You're too weak to make even a sound and this drug greatly effects you. I've built up immunity to it."

"W-wrong…!" I said in a hoarse whisper as inched to my hands and feet, crouching low as I glared at his shocked face.

"How are you…?" He shook his head. "No matter, you won't get very far."

"D-don't underestimate me." I snarled as I raised myself a little higher.

Seeing that I was almost able to stand, Hitaru lunged forward. My reaction was just delayed enough by the drug that he caught my foot as I leapt away and dragged me back. "No you don't…" He growled as he pulled me to him. I lashed out with my claws but he caught my hand in his and kissed it lightly. He forced me under him and got on top, one of his knees in the dirt on either side of my stomach. He let himself collapse with a smirk and the wind was knocked momentarily out of me as he lay on top across me. His head rested firmly on my chest and I couldn't move no matter how much I thrashed around. He turned it to the side and kissed, once again tracing up along my neck and stopping on my cheek just under the eye. He smiled and pulled back slightly, an elbow across my stomach and his legs and waist on mine to hold me down beneath him. He raised the free hand that clutched the drugged rag and pressed it to my face, smothering me with the strong smell. I thrashed wildly, trying to fight the immediate affects of it.

Slowly I stilled and Hitaru smiled in satisfaction. He lifted himself from me and placed one knees on either side of my legs, moving down my body so his stomach was over my waist. His hands began to work rapidly at the belt I wore, trying to tear at the metal buckle I was so glad I had worn. It slowed him down as he hadn't seen anything like it before. I flinched back into the ground as he placed his teeth around it, gnawing it into nothing. With a soft snap the belt fell from my waist and he smiled with satisfaction before tearing down the front of the actual pants, biting off the button and yanking awkwardly at the zipper. I meanwhile let my head fall to the side, trying not to let panic overtake me as the rag slid off my mouth. I held my breath and when I had to, only took tiny short breaths of air at a time.

Growing momentarily bored of wrestling with my pants, Hitaru dragged his body along mine, smearing the blood from his wounded chest along me, his hand caressing my cheek. With a huge effort I snapped, catching his hand in my teeth and biting down, felt his blood entering my mouth. I gagged and he freed himself, rubbing his hand yet still smiling. "You are a naughty girl. Time to be punished." He laughed evilly as he kissed my lips briefly, not venturing to stick his tongue in this time as I spat out his blood hatefully. He slid himself uncomfortably along me again, pausing at my lower stomach. He lifted the shirt slightly, kissing and sucking on the skin as I felt his hands return to working at my pants.

I heard the zipper sliding down and desperation took me as the entire clothes began sliding down my hips, beginning to reveal the top of my underwear. Closing my eyes tightly shut I did the first thing that popped into my hazy head, pictured the wolf. There it was, clear as day in my head. A pure black wolf with green streaks and strange facial markings. In the next second I heard Hitaru's startled cry as he found his cheek resting on the side of a large wolf instead of my stomach.

I thrashed out with a clawed paw, catching his arm and leaving fairly deep gashes. He fell back and I scrambled to my feet, glaring at him with crimson eyes before turning and taking off through the woods. I heard him cry out and come crashing after me and tried to increase my pace but he was definitely gaining. I crashed through the stream and to the other side, venturing into the darker parts of the woods. Out of the corner of my eye I saw an old hollowed out tree leaning to one side as if ready to topple over. Without a second's thought I shrunk down to the size of a puppy and ducked inside the tree, hiding in its shadows and closing my eyes so they wouldn't glow obviously from the gloom.

I heard footsteps run quickly past and huddled further into the tree, shivering slightly but otherwise remaining still. "I know you're here, Kira. I can sense your scent!" Hitaru cried out and I barely suppressed a whimper. After a heart stopping moment of silence the footstepsfaded into the distance and I relaxed slightly yet didn't move, scared to death of what would happen if he found me again.

* * *

A while passed and I heard nothing more when suddenly a face appeared in front of the hole. I yelped loudly and a hand reached out, clamping my muzzle closed together. I whimpered hystericallybut then noticed the eyes staring at me were red. _Hiei…?_ I thought in disbelief. 

Hiei nodded and pulled me out from the tree, next scooping me into his arms. "What happened?" He asked aloud.

I shivered, snuggling into him for comfort and he didn't protest, seeing how bothered I was. _It was a wolf demon, Hitaru. He stole me away, drugged me and had me healed. Then while the drug was still in effect he…_ I paused and Hiei nodded solemnly, motioning that he understood as he clenched a fist in hidden rage. _Let's go home…_ I whimpered and he started walking.

"Wait, where's Kyoshi?"

My whimpering increased with my growing worry. _I don't know! I was taken away from him!_

Hiei nodded again and assured me, "We'll find him, don't worry." He held me, a black puppy sized wolf, shaking and shivering with terror in his arms as he walked through the dark forest silently.


	34. Revenge and Jealousy

* * *

We proceeded forward for a long time. To me it felt like forever as I kept expecting Hitaru to leap out at every step Hiei took. 

Finally we caught sight of something besides a tree in our path. Hiei darted quickly out of view as we regarded the shadowed figure from a safe distance. _It's Kyoshi._ I thought after sniffing the air softly.

Hiei nodded and we stepped forward to him. Kyoshi was bent over, staring at the ground, and didn't hear us approaching until we were upon him. We got within two feet before he suddenly whirled around, lunging a clawed hand towards us.

Startled, Hiei fell back and the claws stopped, pressing against his chest just above me where I lay in his arms. They quickly withdrew as Kyoshi saw who it was. "S-sorry." He stammered. "What are you doing here?"

"You were taking a long time to get back." Hiei muttered.

Hesitantly I jumped from his arms and into Kyoshi's which wrapped around me almost as in instinct. He stared down at me in surprise, recognizing the markings on my face. "Kira…?"

I whimpered once and pressed my face into his chest, still shaking. I hadn't stopped since when I had ducked into the tree.

"What happened to her?" Kyoshi yelled in alarm.

"Why don't you tell me? You were supposed to be watching over her!" Hiei shouted back.

I gave a shaky bark to quiet them and slipped from Kyoshi's grasp, landing on the ground. My legs gave out under me and I collapsed, and then pulled myself to a half sitting position. Closing my eyes tightly, I pictured my normal form clearly in my mind and my body began to glow and enlarge. The shape changed and when the soft light cleared, I was my normal self again.

I remained sitting on my knees, head bent low with my arms shakily supporting my upper half. I gagged once and jerked my head down as I threw up. A thick, sickly green liquid poured from my lips and stained the ground. Using up the last of my strength, I dragged myself from it and collapsed on my side.

Sprawled out like this, Hiei and Kyoshi could see what damage I had taken. There were purple fingers bruised around my ankle were Hitaru had dragged me back to him and I was very pale and even still shaking in fear. This was not what angered them though. They each saw the shirt's front, ripped low and the pants half off my waist and the rage bubbled up inside them, uncontrollable.

"I'll kill that bastard…" Kyoshi muttered through grinding teeth.

Hiei didn't need to waste time speaking as you could tell what he was thinking by how he looked. Both his fists were clenched so tightly he was shaking and his head was bowed, hiding his eyes in shadows. If you peered close enough, you could see the burning red glaring outward.

Wordlessly he walked forward into the forest. Kyoshi paused to crouch by my side. His glare hardened as he pulled at my already baggy pants, trying to make them stay at my waist. It was hopeless as the button was lost and zipper torn to pieces. The belt was somewhere back in the clearing, snapped in two. Gritting his teeth, Kyoshi picked me up gently in his arms and followed after Hiei.

I clung to him, somehow finding the strength to close my fist through the effects of the drug. It seemed to have taken over entirely now that I realized I was safe and hadn't been fighting it as much. Kyoshi smiled down at me reassuringly and my hand went limp. The cloth of his shirt fell from it and I sank into a daze. My breaths came in faint and shaky which added to his concern. After all, none of us had any idea what the drug was that had been used.

I could barely make out the sounds of Kyoshi's footsteps and Hiei's off in the distance some ways ahead as we proceeded forward. My head was pounding and I could feel the cold sweat running down my face. I was still shivering, though not as much as before. "Where… Are we going?" I managed to gasp out.

Kyoshi looked sternly down at me. "Don't try to talk. You need to conserve your remaining strength." He scolded and said no more. I took his advice and remained still and silent. The thoughts in my head came slowly and my senses were dwindling until all I could hear was a constant buzzing in my ears. I couldn't smell anything at all except for the overpowering scent of the trees around us and my eyes were stinging painfully, refusing to open. My body felt numb and finally I gave in, passing out completely and trusting Kyoshi and Hiei to keep me safe.

* * *

I awoke sometime later as a bright light shone down on me. Slowly my eyes fluttered open, still stinging and watering badly. I wiped them a few times with almost numb fingers and looked around. Everything was blurry but I gradually made out that I was still in a forest. My ear twitched and I caught the sounds of faint breathing. My eyes widened and my head whipped to the side. I saw Kyoshi dozing against a tree and relaxed again, wiping my sweaty face and pausing when I caught the scent of blood on my claws. _It… Smells familiar…_ I thought slowly. 

"Are you alright now?"

I jumped almost a foot in the air as I looked to my side to see Hiei's eyes peering into my own. "Y-yes." I stammered, half from the shock of him appearing and half from exhaustion that still enveloped me.

"Do you remember what happened yesterday?" He questioned further. Slowly I shook my head and he watched me silently for a moment as if debating whether to tell me or not.

"What happened?" I gasped out.

He placed a finger to my lips, signaling for me to be quiet and spoke again. "Last night we found that wolf demon again." He pressed his hand to my mouth this time to keep me from crying out. "He's dead now as is all of his pack. You really don't remember?" He asked as he saw my eyes widening at the news. I shook my head again and he went on, removing his hand. "You killed most of them yourself."

I recoiled in horror. "I killed a… pack of wolf demons?" I gasped again. Is that why my hand smells of wolf's blood?

Hiei nodded. "Kyoshi and I were almost overwhelmed there were so many. We were also trying to keep you protected as their leader was trying to take you again and you were out cold." I shivered lightly and he paused, watching the ground. "He… almost had you once. Kyoshi and I landed a hit to him at the exact same time but his men leapt on us and we couldn't get away to help you…" He stopped again as if ashamed of this.

Kyoshi approached us now and sat on the other side of me, picking up where Hiei had left off. "Suddenly you stood up. You're eyes opened wide, glowing entirely with a whitish blue. The wolf demon smiled and opened his arms to you as you approached him expressionlessly with half closed shining eyes. I'd never seen you like that before. You looked as if in a trance or something. Anyway, you reached him and touched his arm softly. Next thing we knew the wolf was on the ground with a hole through his stomach and your arm was dripping red. He choked for air and you… slit his throat." His voice faltered as I brought a hand to my face in horror. Finally he continued again. "Everyone had frozen in shock. His wolves and men saw what you did and all charged you at the same time before we could react. A transparent yet solid green bubble appeared around Hiei and I. Then you raised your arms and tilted your head towards the sky. A similar dome appeared around you. The ground around you bulged up like ripples on water as the energy flowed outward from you. The closest made it within five feet before he was brought down. All were disintegrated on the spot, no traces left. But at least you got your energy back…"

He stopped and they both stared at me. As he spoke the images had come back to my head and I knew they were speaking the truth. I really had done this. While he talked I had brought my hand from my face and now it was resting lifelessly in my lap with the other. I stared at the ground in between my legs that sprawled out in front of me and gave a shaky breath before slumping forward. I caught myself with a shaky hand and shut my eyes tight. "He deserved it. They all did." I said coldly, now staring unblinkingly.

The two guys exchanged glances at my sudden change of heart and turned back in time to see me fully collapse.

Soundlessly they each stood and Kyoshi picked me up again, following Hiei further into the woods. Neither knew the way back to the well and needed my directions to reach it. They decided to just wait it out until I was well enough to return home.

* * *

When my eyes next forced their way open I was resting against something warm and almost soft that was rising and falling in consistent motion. I turned my head and saw that it was Kyoshi. He was asleep, chest rising and falling with his breathing as I leaned against him. Hiei was nowhere to be seen. 

My movement caused him to wake and he smiled over at me, sleep tossed hair obscuring his face. It made me think for the first time what mine might look like after everything. I decided right after that I didn't really care. "Hey love, feeling better today?" He asked, offering me my sword and camera which I took back without hesitation.

I managed a smile as well and nodded softly, closing my eyes again. "I guess…" I said in a voice colder than I meant it to be.

He laughed in amusement. "You don't sound like it." He mused. He shifted his weight and placed an arm around me, lifting the hand to the side of my head. The fingers found the ear and began rubbing it softly and my eyes closed.

"Stop…" I whispered in a contented sigh.

He smiled, knowing I enjoyed it too much to really mean what I had requested. Instead of stopping, he started up on my other ear as well as I leaned weakly against his side. "Hey." He said suddenly, the fingers still moving. There was a soft grunt in reply and they stopped.

I opened my eyes again and saw Hiei walking slowly away. Kyoshi lifted me up and followed him, catching up quickly and falling in step beside him. Hiei turned and now looked at me. "Kira, we're going back. Show us the way to the well."

I nodded and lifted a hand, pointing a finger to our left. Without any sign of recognition Hiei changed directions and Kyoshi followed slowly, trailing slightly behind.

* * *

It was darkening and we were still a few hours away. We were currently walking leisurely through a field of almost waist high grass under a moonless sky and I was growing anxious. _Is it the night of the new moon?_ I wondered to myself. My head jerked up suddenly from Kyoshi's chest where I had been dozing nervously. "What?" He asked, startled. 

"It's… Akumei." I murmured as he was seen approaching slowly through the grass. We paused to wait and finally he reached us.

"Kira!" He cried cheerily. "Long time no see!" Once close glance at me and his smile faded, replaced instead by a face full of concern. "What… happened?"

"Nothing, it's fine." I replied shortly, slipping from Kyoshi's arms to land on wobbly legs. I held a hand self consciously to my chest over the torn shirt as I spoke. "How have you been?"

"I've been fine. But… Have you?" He asked, extending a hand slowly towards me.

I shrank back for some unknown reason. "I said I'm fine!" I almost yelled at him, barely restraining myself.

He let his hand fall and nodded solemnly. "Let me just…" His voice trailed off as he closed his eyes and raised his hand again. I flinched back as he waved it in front of me. His eyes reopened and he smiled. I stared at him and then looked down at my new clothes. It was a long sleeved black top with baggy blue jeans. "Thanks…" I whispered.

He just kept smiling. "It's no problem, don't worry about it." I could tell he was itching to know what had happened and was grateful that he kept himself from asking about it. "So, were you returning home again?" He asked, changing subjects. "And who's this?" He asked as if noticing Kyoshi for the first time.

"We were actually…" I started. "The trip might be put on delay though. This is Kyoshi."

Kyoshi smiled and stepped forward, extending one hand.

Akumei took it and shook softly. "May I ask how you know each other?"

Kyoshi's face fell slightly. "We fought in the final match of a tournament."

"And now you're traveling together?" Akumei laughed. "Well I guess it's good not to hold grudges about such things. Right, Kira?" He added with another chuckle.

He got a death glare from Hiei but I just laughed softly and nodded. "Yes, I guess it is." I gave a startled cry as something bright burst from the grass a short distance away and struck me in the mid back. Sparks of white light flew offfrom the impact asI fell forward with wide eyes, giving a soundless moan.

"Kira!" Akumei shouted as he caught me in his arms. He spun me around and leaned me against him as he looked me over. Kyoshi and Hiei quickly joined us. I remained motionless, eyes wide and mouth agape yet no sound emerged.

"What happened? What was that?" Kyoshi cried helplessly as his eyes searched the tall grass for the culprit. "Gotcha!" He cried as he lurched forward, coming back with someone's arm in his grasp. She was small, child sized with pale red eyes and similarly colored hair. She had the ears and tail of a cat. "What did you do?" He yelled at her.

The girl turned her face away, lips locked tight together as she stared at the ground defiantly.

Hiei looked from my still form to the young girl and clenched his fist. "You better start talking before someone gets hurt." He growled.

Akumei was busy with me propped sitting against him, unconscious with open eyes. He tried various spells that he knew, none of which seemed to work. He gave a startled cry as my body began to glow brightly. "Transportation!" He cried as the light spread to him as well. "Don't kill the girl or we can't get back!" Upon saying this he clamped his arms around me and in the next instant we were both gone from sight.

"Kira? Kira!" Kyoshi cried desperately. "Where did she go? Transportation? What does that mean?"

Hiei grabbed the girl's shoulders and made her look him in the eyes. "You bring her back or we kill you right now." He said venomously.

"No you won't, you need me." The girl replied, gaze unwavering.

"What are you talking about?" Kyoshi screamed in frustration.

Hiei replied impatiently, not removing his eyes from the girls. "Kira has been transported to another world. It's happened before. Akumei did it and he had to bring her back. Apparently only the one who sends them away can be the one to bring them back again. In this case it's this girl."

"Why would you do this?" Kyoshi yelled at the girl.

She flinched away slightly and Kyoshi shouted again but louder, repeating his question. Hiei's hands gripped painfully into her shoulders. Finally she gasped out, "she's always surrounded by people! Why should she have so many friends while I'm always so alone?" She stared down at the ground now as if ashamed.

Hiei and Kyoshi exchanged shocked glances. "That's your excuse?" Hiei shouted, pushing her over.

"If you had talked to her I bet she would've befriended you herself!" Kyoshi added angrily.

The girl lay on her side, silent tears falling. "What…? No she wouldn't… She'd reject me just like everyone else has!"

"Wait a minute…" Kyoshi paused. "You're a half demon aren't you?" The girl's eyes widened slightly at his discovery and he pounded the ground in anger. "You know she's not a full demon either, right?" He muttered through clenched teeth.

"That's not true! Half demons are hated by all! Why would she be any different?" The girl screamed in response. She fell back as Hiei's fist collided with her cheek.

"Because she doesn't attack people just because they get more attention than her! She treats everyone the same and doesn't care about what they are! And she isn't a selfish brat!" He cried in rage.

The girl cowered back, nursing a bruised cheek as tears fell silently down. "But… That's not true…" She whispered to herself. "It can't be… He told me so."

"Who did?" Hiei asked sharply.

"That man, Naraku."

"Him again…" Hiei muttered. "Don't you know anything? He is not to be trusted!"

"I-I didn't know!" She cried, raising her hands defensively. "Please, don't hurt me!"

"Then bring her back, now."

"I-I'll try…" The girl said shakily as she sat down on her knees and closed her eyes. Kyoshi watched from the sides in total confusion.


	35. Saiyuki Once More

* * *

Akumei held me tightly to him as we fell, tumbling through the air as we dropped quickly down towards the earth. _Is this what she felt every time?_ He thought as he flipped around so he was on the bottom. "I'm so sorry…" He whispered in my ear. 

I remained in my trance, staring straight ahead with unseeing eyes and he sighed sadly. He pulled my head to his chest, arms wrapped protectively around as we collided with the ground. With a short grunt he hit shoulders and head first and was immediately knocked unconscious, sending a spray of dirt in all directions.

"Kira?" As the dusty sand began to clear, a voice shouted in horrified disbelief. "What happened?" The yelling was joined by more as a group of four crowded around me.

One lurched in front of the others to be the first to scoop me up in his arms from atop of Akumei. "Who's this guy she's with? And what's with her eyes?" I was still in my trance and gave no reactions to being moved.

The others shrugged and muttered as they picked up Akumei between them. Together they all trooped towards a jeep parked just a bit away and somehow squeezed everyone inside, though one had to sit on the back of the car with just their feet dangling in the back seat.

I awoke with a start, letting a small scream of shock escape as I awoke to find myself surrounded by desert. (Actually, I didn't really wake up. My eyes were already open and they just decided to start seeing again. All of my other senses started working instantly as well.) Everyone in the car jumped and turned to look at me as we squealed to a stop. I jerked forward in the seat, causing the unconscious Akumei to fall in behind me. We had been leaning on each other for support. I looked around still in shock to see Hakkai driving, Sanzo in the passenger seat, Gojyo on my other side, and Goku perched on the back of the car. "What…?" I began in bewilderment.

"That's exactly what we were thinking when we saw you fall from the sky with that guy." Gojyo said, pointing a finger at Akumei. "I thought you went home ages ago?"

"I-I did…" My eyes widened in realization. "I must've been attacked again!"

"What, you don't know if you were?" Sanzo asked.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Hakkai added.

"Something… hit me in the back and everything went black." I muttered. "Now I've woken up to see you guys again."

"Lucky us…" Gojyo smirked, leaning towards me. Before I could respond, the others had shoved him away.

I sighed quietly to myself and looked at Akumei, who had been picked up so his head was leaning against my shoulder again. I moved his hair aside and my eyes widened. "Why didn't you guys care for him?" I yelled out. There was a thin trickle of dried blood running down his forehead to his chin.

"Calm down, it's nothing serious." Hakkai reassured me. "He'll survive quite easily. "If I'm not mistaken, he's a demon too, right?"

I paused before replying. "I'm… Not sure." I admitted. "He's always masked his scent from me and he's never shown any demonic powers to me before…"

"Ah, I see." Hakkai murmured. "Oh! He's waking up."

Sure enough, Akumei's eyes started to flicker as he began to stir. Hakkai started driving again as Akumei sat up and looked around in a daze. He winced and placed a hand to his forehead, partially hiding his face. "Ugh… My head…" He groaned and collapsed back against the seat.

"Akumei…?" I asked tentatively, reaching a hand slowly towards him. His own shot out and gripped mine, digging painfully with its nails. "Akumei, that hurts…" I winced, trying to pull away. He growled softly and the hold tightened. "Akumei, stop it. What are you doing?" I asked, trying to keep myself calm.

Without warning, he snarled in my face, lurching forward to grip both my shoulders. Caught off guard I simply yelped as we were pushed over the back of the jeep and landed with a thud in the sand. The vehicle skidded to a stop as everyone leapt out to try and help. Akumei had me pinned and I was calling desperately to him. "Forget it. The minus wave has taken over him!" Sanzo yelled at me. "He's lost his mind!"

I ignored him, trying to get away from Akumei without hurting him. A foot slammed into his face and my arm was grabbed as I was pulled away and to my feet. "You hit him!" I screamed.

Gojyo shrugged. "Well he was gonna kill you!"

Akumei tried charging at Goku who leapt over his head and landed a kick to his back. With a cry Akumei fell to his face in the sand. I bit my lip to keep from crying out as I watched Akumei being abused by the others. I clung to Gojyo's arm to at least keep him from the fight.

Suddenly everyone else cried out in shock as individual force fields appeared around each. From the tops a single bolt of lightening flashed, striking the captives held inside. One by one, Sanzo, Goku and Hakkai sank to the ground in semi consciousness. "Akumei, stop it!" I screamed in horror. He turned to me and Gojyo prepared to attack. "Stop…" I whispered, stepping between them.

"Stop…?" Gojyo echoed in shock. "Didn't you see what he just did to them?"

I nodded and approached Akumei slowly. "Hey, you remember me right? I'm Kira, remember?" He blinked and stared hard at me for a moment. I smiled harmlessly in return. "See? Come here. Stop hurting my friends, alright?" He growled quietly and took as step back as I inched my way forward. We were three feet apart, now two. His hand lashed out and struck my face, leaving four deep gashes on my right cheek but my smile didn't waver. I took another step, blocking out Gojyo's shouts. One foot apart now. I touched his arm with my right hand and got four more slashes on it in return. I kept smiling and leaned forward into him, wordlessly burying my face into his chest. Silent tears began to fall from my closed eyes.

Akumei's widened and his arms slowly closed around me. He was taken over again and dug the claws into my back and sides but I didn't move and instead held him tighter. "Akumei, stop this. It's me, it's just me. You don't have to let it control you." I murmured into his chest. "You don't have to do this."

He paused again and threw his head back, giving off a snarling scream into the dark sky above and taking a single step backwards. "Behind you!" Gojyo shouted. My eyes grew wide as I felt us falling and I lifted my head in time to see Akumei falling backwards over a cliff. His claws were dug into my back so I was pulled with him. "Kira!" Gojyo shouted over my screams as he charged forward. I clamped my eyes shut thinking it was all over. There was nothing to catch hold of and the treetops of a forest were all that waited below. After everything, would I die this way?

I was jerked to a stop as something wound around my arm that I had instinctively extended above my head. I grabbed first and looked later. It was Gojyo's weapon, the chain that extended was wrapped painfully around my arm but I didn't care as long as I didn't fall. I could feet the links biting painfully into my skin but refused to let go. The baggy sleeve had fallen to my shoulder so it offered no extra padding. Glancing down I saw Akumei with eyes glazed over as if in a trance, his claws still dug into my back in a deathly embrace. I gritted my teeth and held him back with my free arm.

I heard Gojyo's grunts and he struggled to pull us upward. "You're too… heavy with him!" He gasped out.

"Well I'm not letting him go!" I forced myself to shout in reply. I tried forming my spirit energy around us to lift us upward but couldn't manage any at all. _I must've used it all up during the attack against Hitaru... Damn him! Bringing me trouble even after death!_Then I tried to picture the wings emerging from my back again but the pain in my arm kept me from focusing. We jerked down a foot and I screamed as small rocks and dirt fell from above. I glanced up and saw the tip of Gojyo's boot hanging over the top of the cliff. "Release us or you'll fall too!" I screamed.

I heard him laugh. "And what kind of shitty person would that make me if I just let you fall to save myself?" The boot pulled back and we rose a few inches. I dug my clawed feet into the rocks to try and help make it easier.

We were almost halfway back up the cliff side when I began to glow. _Am I'm being transported back?_ I thought at first but then my eyes widened in realization. _It is still the night of the new moon!_ "Gojyo, I'm transforming!" I screamed up at him.

"What?" He shouted back.

'It's the night of the new moon! I'm turning back into a human!"

"Well why'd you have to pick now to change?" He yelled.

"I don't have any say in it! Ah-" I gave a slight groan which trailed off into nothing as my eyes opened wide. The light had fully enveloped me now. My eyes, turned gray from the pain, now switched to a clear crystal blue. The long green speckled black hair changed to shimmering silver. My ears and tail disappeared and my claws and fangs shrank to the length of a human's teeth and nails. With my claws no longer gripping the mountainside to help pull us up, I dropped a couple inches, causing Gojyo to cry out and take on the full load of our weight again. Lastly, the crescent moon and red streaks on my face vanished from the pale skin.

During the entire transformation I had been holding my breath, eyes wide and staring. Now I withdrew and released the air rapidly, my eyes blinking quickly together and apart. For a moment I forgot where I was but the feel of the chain biting into my arm reawakened me. We dropped another foot. "Gojyo!" I screamed, closing my eyes tightly in fear as he gave no response.

Suddenly we started moving swiftly upwards and were jerked up and over. I stood motionless while I attempted to catch my breath. Giving up I looked over and caught Gojyo's eye as we both stared at each other wordlessly until he grunted, tumbling backwards into the sand. Turning my head to the side further, I noticed that Hakkai, Sanzo and Goku were all standing now and must've helped pull us up. Hakkai stepped towards me and gently pulled Akumei's claws from my skin. With an exhausted moan I fell over to lie breathless on the ground, cheek to the sand. Glancing over at Gojyo, I saw both his hands ripped bloody and raw from pulling on the chain. "I… I'm sorry." I whimpered.

"It's alright." He gasped back, noting that my left arm from the fingertips up to the elbow was bloody and torn as well from having the chain wrapped around it. "Why the hell were we so close to a cliff anyway?" We both managed a short, exhausted laugh.

I jumped as a figure leaned over mine, lying partly on my back. It was Akumei, kneeling over me with his arms draped softly over my head. I felt a tear hit my cheek and heard his whispers. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" He kept repeating it over and over.

I smiled without moving. "It's alright." Then I dropped into unconsciousness.

* * *

We were moving again, back in the jeep it felt like. Instead of trying my eyes, I just sniffed the air softly and found myself to be in between Akumei and Gojyo. I took a deep shaky breath and opened my eyes. At first everything was blurry but slowly it cleared. I was in the back, seated in the middle of the two with Goku on the back of the jeep behind me. 

"Wow that was fast." Gojyo immediately spoke.

I brought a hand to my cheek, feeling the bandages there. "What was?"

"We haven't been moving for long. You were out just long enough to be wrapped up and set in the jeep."

"Oh…" I murmured, looking myself over. My right hand and lower back and waist were bandaged from the claw marks and my left was wrapped from the fingers to past the elbow from the chain. "Thanks… Are you all ok now?"

Gojyo laughed at my concern. "It's alright, I'll be fine and they're already fully healed." He lifted one of his bandaged hands to my head, letting the silver hair run through his fingers. "You know, your human form is kind of hot too."

I laughed softly, blushing deeply at his words and trying to hide my sadness. Once again I had brought unneeded trouble upon them. _What if someone had been killed by Akumei's outburst?_ I glanced over at him now, staring out the side of the car beside me. _He seems to be in control of himself now at least._ I sighed and sat staring straight ahead.

We rode in silence for a while longer when suddenly I clamped my hands to my head tightly. "What's-" I cut Akumei off before he could speak and focused.

_K-Kira…?_ A very quiet voice spoke in my head. It sounded like a small girl, very hesitant in her words.

_Yes?_ I thought in reply.

There was a pause and then, _I'm really sorry for sending you away! I thought you were a bad person and I'm sorry! I'm trying to bring you back now…_ The girl seemed to be fighting back tears.

_It's alright._ I murmured. _I forgive you, ok? Just bring us back quickly._

_Ok, I will._

The voice vanished from my head and I sat up, looking at the others. The car had stopped and all were watching me. I smiled and spoke. "I'm going to be transported again now. Maybe I'll see you guys again someday? I mean, you never know. I thought my last visit was the final time."

"So did we." Hakkai laughed.

They all wished me goodbye as I gathered my things. The sword and camera bag had been placed along the floorboard out of the way. Akumei helped me from the jeep and we stood in the sand, facing the others. "Bye…" I whispered as I began glowing again. Akumei moved behind me and wrapped his arms gently around me so the light spread to him as well. With a smile and a wave I was gone, taking Akumei with me.

"Well, she's off again…" Hakkai murmured.

* * *

"I've done it." The small child announced as she sat back in the tall grass, holding her head in one hand. 

"Done what?" Kyoshi asked, clueless.

"Does that mean she's back here?" Hiei demanded.

She shook her head, cringing back as she did so. "No but I'm trying my best!"

Hiei turned away angrily but Kyoshi approached the girl, a warm smile on his face. "That's alright. We know you can do it! I'm sure Kira will be happy to meet you when she returns as well." He still had no idea what she had done.

The girl wiped away a forming tear and smiled back at Kyoshi, nodding once and then closing her eyes in concentration.


	36. Bleach

* * *

Akumei held me close to him as we fell from the sky, shielding my head with his own body. "Don't worry, I won't let anything else happen to you." 

"I can't be helped when it comes to me. Just don't hurt yourself on my account!" I pleaded but his grip only tightened.

"I have already caused you to suffer needlessly too many times. That was the last. Now, brace yourself!"

The impact sent a wave of dust flying up from the cement we had smashed partly through and by the time the dust had cleared and settled, someone had reached us. In a daze, I managed to lift my head and looked up towards who it was. It was blurry, but I managed to make out a boy with spiky red hair. Behind him was a girl with shoulder length black hair just coming to the scene. She said something to the boy but I could not focus any longer. With a groan I fell forward onto Akumei who was lying motionless on the ground.

Blinking my eyes open, I looked around, surprised to see it was still dark. I was in a shadowedalleyway leaning against a stone wall. Propped up beside me was Akumei and a few feet away the boy and girl were talking in hushed voices. My eyes widened slightly as something caught my eye. Looking straight up I thought I saw something on the building above but it withdrew too quickly. I considered that it might be a hallucination caused by my dizzy mind but then heard a faint roaring.

Then suddenly something leapt down from above to head straight towards me. With a startled cry, I pushed myself into Akumei, sending us both rolling out of the way just as the thing collided. Fragments of stone flew everywhere, as the pavement and wall were both shattered. Staring in shock, I finally managed to see it clearly. It was entirely black except for the white mask on its face and the hole on its stomach. On either side of the mask were two dark holes for the glowing eyes to peer through and at the bottom was a large mouth full of huge teeth. "W-what are you?" I stammered.

It grinned in what seemed to be amusement. "So, you can see me?"

"Are you alright?" The red haired boy cried, racing towards us with the girl right behind.

"Yea-" I nodded, cutting myself off as my body began to glow. I closed my eyes and ground my teeth together as I began changing back to my demonic form, causing the still fresh wounds to sting.

"What's happening?" The boy and girl froze and even the creature looming over me stopped to stare. Slowly the silver hair turned pure black again, keeping the green flecks. The red streaks and moon appeared back on my face and the wolf ears and tail sprouted back out. My teeth and claws grew longer and pointed. The glowing faded and I opened my eyes, green once more. "What just…?" The boy's voice trailed off as the creature laughed.

"So, not human are you? You smell more of wolf now but you're soul smells just as wonderfully delicious." It chuckled, bowing closer towards Akumei and me.

"M-my soul…? I gasped, scooting back from it and trying to pull Akumei with me.

Suddenly its hand lunged forward, wrapping itself around me. I screamed as I was lifted from the ground and held before the masked face. It smiled cruelly as it said in an almost sing song voice, "time to die!" The next instant I was on the ground again, the thing's hand still enclosed around me as it screamed, holding a handless arm.

The boy ran to my side, prying the fingers from around me. "Are you ok?" He asked.

"Yes… What is that thing?"

"It's called a hollow." The girl said, now approaching us. "I'm Rukia and this is Ichigo. What are you…?" She added quietly.

Ichigo turned to her. "It's a pretty weak one. I managed to knock off its hand by kicking it once."

"I'm Kira…" I replied slowly, watching the hollow out of the corner of my eye. "Watch out!" I pushed Rukia over who in turn fell into Ichigo to knock him to safety as well as the hollow's tail lashed out over us. My eyes widened as I saw the fingers roll past to rejoin with the detached hand. Jumping up to use the fingers like legs, it ran over to Akumei and grabbed him tightly, and then attempted to return to the hollow's arm. "Stop…!" I screamed, running towards it.

"No you stop! What do you hope to achieve by rushing in like that?" Rukia shouted, clutching at my sleeve. She froze as the weak fabric fell away in her hand revealing the heavily bandaged arm underneath, wounds caused by Gojyo's chain as he had pulled me back up the cliff. She had overlooked the wrapped up hands before but now saw them as well. "What happened…?"

I growled and pulled away, rushing forward towards the hollow and Akumei. By now the hand had reattached and the thing was laughing again as it raised Akumei to its mouth. "Stop…!" I screamed again as I leapt at it. The laughing doubled in delight as the tail swung at me. I gritted my teeth, slipped my sword from the sheath at my side, and swung it with both hands downwards. The tail hit the ground with a thud, writhing around like a lizards as the hollow screamed in rage and pain. I landed lightly and leapt back up again, this time catching the hollow's arm and cutting the hand loose once more. I crouched beside Akumei and sliced away the fingers that still held him. Slipping his arm around my shoulder, I staggered away from the screaming hollow and back to the two who were now staring in shock.

"How did you…?" Rukia stammered but I interrupted her.

"Shouldn't you… Finish it off?" I asked, wincing in pain as I set Akumei down gently on his side.

"Right…" Ichigo nodded, turning to face Rukia. "Change me into a death god now so I can defeat it."

Rukia nodded and pulled on a glove, red with a blue flame that had a skull in its center. She thrust it at Ichigo's chest, stopped as the thrashing tail of the hollow slammed into her. She gasped out a soundless scream as she fell forward, hitting the pavement with a thud. The tail changed direction and came towards Ichigo who scowled and knocked it back with a hard kick before rushing to Rukia's side. "Rukia…? Wake up! You have to change me!" He sighed and turned around to face the hollow who was reattaching itself to the lost tail and hand. "Great… Where is Kon when I need him?"

"Kon…?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"You called?" I gasped out as a small blur leapt on me, snuggling into my chest. It looked like a stuffed lion toy. I gasped and pulled it off with a shaky hand and then tossed it to Ichigo who thrust his hand deep into the toys mouth. It gagged several times as Ichigo fished around and finally came out with a tiny green ball. The toy, Kon, stopped moving as Ichigo popped the ball into his mouth. Instantly there was a flash of blue light as he fell to his knees and another image of himself floated from the back, dressed in black robes.

The black clothed image looked down at the kneeling one. "Kon, stay with them and make sure they're ok."

"Alright…" Kon answered, now in Ichigo's body.

"What just… Happened…?" I whispered, picking up the now still lion doll.

Kon looked at me curiously. "Ichigo transformed into a death god so I take control of his body until he's done."

"Done…?" I murmured weakly, watching as Ichigo hacked off two of the hollow's arms with the huge sword that had been strapped to his back. He landed and immediately leapt back into the air, slicing right through the creature's mask. It shrieked and then faded into nothing.

Ichigo put away the sword and crossed back over towards us just in time to see me collapse, clutching at my sides. "What happened Kon?" He screamed.

"I-I don't know!" Kon stammered back, kneeling beside me. He placed his hand on mine, pulling it back to see it coated in blood. "When did this happen?" He shouted frantically.

"It's from… Earlier tonight…!" I gasped out. "Before… I got here."

"The hollow must've reopened your wounds." Rukia said.

Ichigo jumped and then screamed at her. "How long have you been awake?"

"For a while…" She said simply and then knelt next to me. "You two, back away a little, especially you Kon."

"What…?" Kon asked, attempting to sound hurt. She gave them both a look that sent them scurrying back much further than needed and then turned back to me. "What caused these injuries?"

"Claws…" I whimpered as she readjusted the bandages around my back and waist.

"And on your face and arms…?"

"Claws and a chain… used to pull me back up a cliff that I almost fell down."

She remained silent for a moment and then called over that Ichigo and Kon could rejoin us. They hurried over, sitting on either side of me as Rukia continued her questioning. "So you could see the hollow and you can see Ichigo even now?" I nodded. "What exactly are you?"

"Wolf demon, dog demon, and human… A mix of the three."

She looked startled for a second but quickly recovered. "Why did you appear different earlier?"

"Since I'm not a full demon I transform into a human for part of the night of the new moon. That was my human form." Now that the bleeding had slowed, I was not feeling as dizzy and was able to talk easier too. "Actually, I want to try something that I haven't been able to do recently. I should be able to do it no problem." I closed my eyes, jumping as I began to glow once more. "Not again…" I muttered as I switched back to being human. When it was done, I shied away from the stares I was receiving from everyone. "It's not supposed to happen this often. Usually it is only once! I don't know what's going on…" I closed my eyes again and placed my right hand on the heavily bandaged left arm. It started to glow green and I smiled as I felt the warmth spreading to all my wounds. After a few minutes, I paused and lifted my hand, flexing it a few times and pulling the bandages off. Everyone gasped as they saw the newly healed skin. My waist, back, and cheekwere better as well.

"But I just… Rewrapped your wounds…" Rukia blinked in confusion.

I smiled. "It's a skill I have. I haven't done it in a long time though, since my energy was sealed inside me and unreachable." I paused and then grinned. "Could I have a picture?" I explained to them about traveling and keeping record of who I met and somehow managed to get the three to agree. I took the forgotten camera from its bag at my side and snapped a quick photo before replacing it. "Thanks."

Suddenly a beep sounded loudly and Rukia thrust her hand into her pocket to pull out a small electronic device, flat and rectangular, that was continually beeping. She opened it and frowned. "There's another hollow nearby. Come on Ichigo."

"But what about…?"

"I'll be fine." I smiled. With that, the two disappeared and shortly after Kon departed as well, lion doll in hand. Now it was just Akumei and me again. I sighed as I looked at him, still unconscious, leaning against the wall behind us. "What is wrong with you…?" I whispered aloud.

"I don't… want you to be hurt anymore."

I jumped and stared at Akumei, not having expected a reply. "What?"

"When you were transported last time, you felt drained every time you landed somewhere, right?" Slowly I nodded my head and he continued. "Being transported is hard on the one performing it and the one undergoing it. I'm taking the whole load so you won't have to suffer."

"But…!" I cried, sitting on my knees in front of him. "Now I have to look after you all by myself and I keep getting attacked! I can't protect us both on my own." I bowed my head, holding my fists clenched in my lap with both eyes closed.

A single tear slid down my cheek and Akumei wiped it away. "You're doing a fine job now."

"No I'm not! You missed what just happened!"

He laughed. "Well no matter what you say I'm not reversing it. You are even in a human form now. The effects would be much worse!" He smiled again and raised a hand in front of me. In an instant, my torn clothes were mended. "Ah… I'm going to rest more now…" His voice trailed off and he lay still again.

"Well, now I know what's wrong with you…" I turned over my hand and traced over the rounded fingernails. "But… What is wrong with me?"

I shrank back as I heard footsteps rapidly approaching. Soon a tall figure had turned the corner and was running towards me. Our eyes met as he staggered past but I looked away as soon as the next thing approached. It was another hollow. This one stood on two strong legs and had four arms, two on each side. The mask was shaped with a wicked grin permanently on its surface. It turned from the man it had been chasing and smiled down at me as the man disappeared from sight. It slowly advanced on me, laughing as I desperately tried to stand with Akumei's arm draped around my shoulder. He was bigger than I was and in my human state, I could barely support him. "See Akumei?" I shouted. "I need you!"

I screamed as the hollow reached out and was forced to drop Akumei as it pinned me back against the wall. "There…!" I heard a voice cry out and in the next moment, I was on my knees on the pavement blinking in confusion. I looked up to see the man it had been chasing standing in front of me. He looked over his shoulder at me. "You should run." He was tall and heavily muscled with brown hair to his shoulders that covered one eye.

I shook away my surprise enough to point at Akumei. "I can't leave him!" The man nodded and turned back to face the hollow. He squinted his eyes and threw a punch, missing completely. "Can you… Not see it…?" I asked in shock.

He shook his head. "Can you?"

"Yes… Duck…!" I shouted and he threw himself down as the hollow's fist collided with the stone wall above me, showering me with dust. The next arm followed swiftly behind, grazing my right arm. I gasped out as it felt like a knife had pierced the skin. Bringing a shaky hand to my arm and the pulling it away, I stared wide eyed at the red liquid that covered it.

"We have to get out of here." The man was kneeling in front of me, looking over my wound. "Come on." He moved over and slung Akumei gently over his shoulder before taking my left hand and starting to run. I was dragged quickly behind him.

_I have my sword… Can I use it properly as a human? Maybe… I have been training!_ I debated with myself the entire time we were running and finally decided to risk it. I suddenly stopped moving and my hand slipped from the man's. He turned in time to see me drawing my sword and spinning to face the hollow that had been closely following. It stopped in surprise, seemed to think for a second, and then charged me, roaring the entire time. I gritted my teeth and tightened my hold on the handle before leaping to meet it, going higher than expected which threw off my aim. Instead of piercing the mask, I plunged my blade deep into its shoulder. It screamed and disappeared from view. I sank to my knees, wiping my face.

The man returned to my side, crouching beside me. "Are you ok?" He asked.

I gritted my teeth, nodding. I had used my right arm to attack, the same arm the hollow had just injured. "I'll be fine." I muttered as I sheathed the sword.

He shook his head. "Well we better go see a doctor or something. My friend's dad happens to be one. He has treated me before."

"I said I'll be fi-" I cut myself off as something cold hit me from behind and wrapped itself around me. I looked down to see some dirty brown gooey substance encircling my body, pinning my arms at my sides. Then I heard the roar of the hollow. "Ah-!" I started in frustration as I struggled uselessly, feeling its presence behind me. I looked over and noticed the man was standing. "What are you doing?"

He didn't say anything but instead remained staring down the hollow. It hesitated and then charged with another roar. Suddenly a blue light shot from the sky and impaled the hollows head. It shrieked and thrashed around, soon stilling and fading away.

A shape leapt down from the closest rooftop and landed beside me. It was a boy with glasses and black hair. "Are you alright?" He asked. I nodded wordlessly as he looked at the junk that held my arms pinned. The man crossed back over to join us.

"Ishida…?" He asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same, Chad." He replied before tapping the gooey stuff lightly. It jiggled slightly just like jello but otherwise did nothing. "Hmm… I'm not sure what this is, or how to get it off. Heat maybe…?"

"Well, could I please have a picture of you two?" I asked suddenly.

"What?" Chad, the man I first met, asked in surprise.

"I'm keeping track of everyone I meet and now you too are now included in that. So can I?" I pleaded. Finally, they both agreed and we managed to get a picture even though my arms were tied up so I could not hold the camera.

Suddenly I began to glow and both of them leapt back, startled. "What's happening now?" Ishida asked.

"Quickly, lean him against me!" I shouted referring to Akumei.

"Oh, I hadn't even noticed him." Ishida commented as he and Chad obeyed.

"Could you… Place one of his arms around me?" I asked, blushing furiously.

"Why…?" Chad asked but he did so anyway.

"I'm about to be transported away from here and I need to make sure he's taken with me."

I jumped as the young girl's voice sounded in my head again. _I'm sorry. I meant to warn you first. Are you ready now?_

I nodded._ Yes, I am._ "Bye guys… Oh and by the way, my name's Kira." I called aloud as I disappeared, bringing Akumei with me.

Chad and Ishida exchanged shocked glances before the ever serious Ishida bid him goodbye and left.

* * *

"I've… Transported her again…" The little cat girl murmured in almost a whimper. Then she closed her eyes as if concentrating so neither Hiei nor Kyoshi spoke. 


	37. Prince of Tennis

* * *

Once again, I found myself falling from the sky. Forcing my eyes open, I saw that it was a small forest with a stone path running through it that lay right below. "Akumei…?" I whispered, feeling his arm around my shoulder. _Well, he's taking the aftermath of the transportation, so I'll have to handle the landing._ I shut my eyes tight, flipping my body around so I was on bottom. I couldn't manage to have my feet going first and when I hit ground, I slammed hard into my right shoulder. I gasped at the pain as I felt something jerk out of place and tears instantly sprang to my eyes. Then, to make things worse, Akumei's body hit hard on top of mine. "Owww…" I whimpered loudly, freezing as I felt someone close by. 

I glanced over and saw a boy staring at us in shock. An orange and white bandana covered his black hair and he wore a blue and white jacket that had a name on it: Kaidoh Kaoru. "What the…?" He started.

"It's-" I cut myself off with a gasp of pain as I tried to sit up to face him. My arms were still bound by whatever the hollow had thrown at me so I couldn't raise a hand to feel my shoulder. It had jerked downward so the bonds were digging into the cut on my arm.

"Hey, are you ok…?" Kaidoh asked, inching closer. "What's that on you?"

I pulled myself out from under Akumei and to my knees, bending low forward and wincing with both eyes clamped tightly shut. All I could manage was one quick shake of my head.

Kaidoh approached and knelt in front of me. He tapped my shoulder, wincing himself as I cried out. "It's at a weird angle… You might have dislocated it. Your arm is bleeding too." He said.

I jumped as I felt him pulling me to my feet. I started to fall over so he had to hold me steady. "Where… are we going?"

"The hospital." He replied, blushing.

"I don't think that's a very good idea…" I murmured. "And what about him…?" I added, indicating Akumei who was still lying unconscious on the ground.

"Why not…?" Kaidoh asked, shooting Akumei a glare.

"Well because…" I cut myself off, staring around as I just realized something. "Hey, it's the middle of the day!"

"Yeah, so…?"

"Well I should be back to normal…!" My voice faltered as I began to glow but this time I welcomed the transformation, even though it hurt so much that I fell to my knees again. Kaidoh had let go in surprise and was backing away. The silver hair turned black again and the claws and fangs sprang out to their proper length. The ears and tail popped back out and the markings took their rightful places on my cheek and forehead. I sighed, head bowed. "This is why. Imagine what would happen if I was discovered!" I glanced over at Kaidoh who was inching ever further away. "Please don't leave! I need help…" I whimpered.

Slowly he half crawled back to my side, helping as I struggled to sit up. "What… are you…?"

I sighed quietly. "You have to promise not to leave." He nodded and I went on. "I'm… a wolf demon though part dog demon and part human as well."

He stared at me for a moment as if deciding whether to believe me or not and ended up tugging lightly on one of my ears. I sat still and just allowed it. Finally he nodded again. "What did this?" He was referring to my condition.

"I was attacked by a kind of monster." I smiled, not expecting him to believe this as easily. "I've been switching worlds trying to return home after being sent from my own. I was attacked and then brought here before I healed. Hold on, I have to try something to get this junk off." I closed my eyes and my body began to glow again. Slowly my shape changed, shrinking, and when the light cleared, I was in my wolf form. I yelped loudly as I collapsed from the dislocated leg and returned to normal almost instantly. "That didn't work. The crap shrunk with me and dug in deeper!" I cried. "But when I changed back it shifted so it isn't digging into the cut anymoreat least." I sighed in relief. It wasn't hurting nearly as bad now. I tried to heal myself but couldn't summon any energy.

"Alright…" He started, fumbling with the bottom of his shirt.

"Stop…!" I cried as I realized he was about to tear a piece off. "Go ahead and use my sleeve. It's already torn anyway."

"Sssss…" I stared as he hissed but kept myself quiet. He nodded and reached over, blushing as he grabbed my sleeve and tore from the shoulder down, revealing my arm and the cut. "It's deep…" He muttered as he wrapped the rag awkwardly around it. I could tell he was not used to bandaging cuts but greatly appreciated the fact that he was trying.

"Thanks." I smiled, holding in a laugh, as he blushed slightly deeper.

"We have to find someone who can do it better. They should still be at the courts if we hurry."

"Wait, what? I can't go anywhere like this. People will see me and freak out! Reporters will come!"

I flinched back as he hissed again and gave me a withering glare, watching in surprise as he took my unhurt arm and gently pulled me to my feet. Next, he took off the jacket and draped it around my shoulders, pulling it almost closed to hide my injured arm and the stuff that bound me. It also happened to cover the sword. He crouched down and took my tail, causing me to jump, and wound it around my waist, sticking the end into a wide belt loop. That way it would not swing loose. I think I had done it before myself actually. He stood and looked me over. "Oh, your ears…" He murmured, taking his bandana off and tying it on my head instead.

During this, his face had been steadily growing redder and scarier. By now, he was dangerously close to crimson and he looked like he was ready to kill someone. I felt my own face had turned red as well but it was nothing compared to his.

I smiled gratefully at him anyway. "Thank you…"

He stared at the ground, hissing again as he crossed to Akumei and jerked him up, placing his arm around his own shoulder. "Come on." He said shortly and began walking down the stone path to head out of the forest. I quickly followed, slowed somewhat by my arms having been clamped to my sides.

As we made our way down the streets, both of us were aware of the comments made. "Is that Kaidoh?" "What's he doing with a girl?" "Who is she?" "I'm jealous… Lucky snake…" "He's letting her wear his bandana!" "No fair!" "His jacket too…?" "And… why's he carrying a guy?" His face was darkening red because of the sudden attention he was unused to getting and mine from nervousness of being found out. Gradually our pace quickened until we were both almost running. It looked almost funny seeing him going with Akumei's arm slung around his shoulder but then I realized how strange I must have looked as well, with both arms tied by my sides as I trotted to keep up.

Finally, we found ourselves at a school. He quickly pulled me past staring spectators and around to several tennis courts, each full of people. As we made our way to the one containing the least amount of people, we became quickly aware that all activity had ceased and all eyes were on us.

As we stepped onto the court, a boy with brown hair and glasses approached us. "I thought you were going on a short run. Who are they?" He added, indicating Akumei and me.

"I found them in the woods. She's hurt and needs help and this guy is just unconscious."

The boy stared at me, following my nervous gaze towards all of the boys who were pretending to practice but stealing were glances instead. "Practice is over for the day. Everyone go home!" He bellowed suddenly.

I jumped and then turned to him. "No, you don't have to stop everyone on my account!"

Instead of speaking, he walked over to a courtside bench and stood in front of it. Kaidoh nudged me forward, the boy made me sit, and Akumei was propped up beside me. "Oishi!"

Another came trotting over from a group of huddled boys, the only ones left. "Yes…?" He asked, looking down at me. The group followed and soon I was surrounded by curious faces. I stared nervously down at my lap. "What is it Tezuka?" Oishi continued.

Tezuka, the boy with glasses, nodded towards Kaidoh. "He says he found her injured."

"Injured? Can I have a look then?" Oishi asked me. "Oh, and what is your name?"

"Kira…!" Before I could react further than just speaking, he had pulled the jacket from my shoulders. There was an immediate chorus of startled cries and I flinched helplessly away from them. "What… is that?" Someone asked, a boy with spiky black hair, as he began to poke the sticky bonds that held me.

"Momo, stop that. It's rude." A boy with somewhat shaggy brown hair scolded. His name was Fuji. "Though I was wondering the same thing…" He added as an afterthought.

Then another boy with hair slightly shorter than Momo's and glasses made a new discovery, my sword. I swung my feet up onto the bench and rested my side against the back to keep anyone from touching the handle and hurting themselves. "Is it what it looks like?" Inui, the boy, asked. "A sword…?"

Wordlessly I nodded, jumping as I realized he was writing down everything he saw about me. "Wait, don't write this down!"

"I have to for the sake of my data collecting. This is all very interesting…" He replied before taking more notes.

"A real sword…? Why would you be carrying a sword around?" A boy with reddish hair that curled at the ends asked. He had a white bandage on his right cheek, just for show, and his name was Kikumaru. "Nya…? What's this?" He continued, leaning behind me with wide eyes. "A tail…!" He shouted, grabbing it.

"Aiyaa! What are you doing?" I screamed, snatching it away from him. "That hurt…!"

"It's… not fake?" Kikumaru asked in shock. "Then what are those two bulges under the bandana?" I couldn't raise my arms so it was easy for him to snatch it away, allowing the two black wolf ears to pop back up. His face lit up with pure glee as he went about pulling, poking and rubbing them both.

I was able to do nothing to resist besides wriggle around as they all took turns messing with them but finally I couldn't take it any longer. "Will you all just back off?" I shouted and they all stumbled away in surprise.

Tezuka, however, remained rooted in place. "You need to talk with more respect to your elders."

"What?" I cried. "You're not my elders! I'm older than all of you!" I froze as they all stared wordlessly. "What… you don't believe me?" It was then I realized that I had shrunk in size to enable Kaidoh to disguise me easier. Closing my eyes, I was back at my regular height instantly, taller than any of the surrounding boys.

"What school do you go to? I haven't seen you around before and I think I would've remembered if I had." Momo asked, after a short pause in which he realized I had grown suddenlytaller.

"I go to school in the United States. I'm going to start eleventh grade after summer vacation and I'm sixteen, making me older than each of you!"

"We're sorry Kira-senpai." A boy with spiky brown hair, Kawamura, said timidly.

"The States? What are you doing here? And what did you do to get yourself in this condition?"

"Well first off…" I began. "I don't mind if you just call me Kira." I smiled and continued. "Second, yes I live in America to attend school and you can ask Kaidoh about what happened."

Kaidoh jumped as he found everyone staring at him. "No, you can tell it yourself." He hissed.

I frowned. "Umm, ok then… You're not going to believe me but I'm a demon, part human as well, who was sent from my world with him." I paused, nudging Akumei. "I've been switching between worlds trying to get back and at the last one I was attacked and didn't have time to get fixed up before I was sent away and ended up here. Now I am asking for your help because my arm and shoulder really hurt. Kaidoh said it may be dislocated and the arm is just cut deeply."

There was a long pause of stunned silence before Oishi kneeled in front of me. I was turned so my injured side was facing out and the ok side resting against the back of the bench so it was easy for him to work. He laughed, unwrapping my bandage. "Looks like someone tied up your wound with your torn sleeve?"

I nodded, smiling through my winces. "Kaidoh." I saw him walk slightly away, blushing, out of the corner of my eye.

Oishi only laughed. "Well it served its purpose." Fuji handed him a first aid kit and he pulled out the proper bandages to rewrap my arm. Once done he noticed my face. "Oh! If it was hurting you that much you should have said something!"

"I'm fine." I muttered through clenched teeth. "This is nothing..."

"Nya, she's as tough as our baby boy here!" Kikumaru cried out, throwing his arm around the smallest boy there. He looked like just a kid. He grunted and knocked Kikumaru away, crossing his arms.

"Oh yeah, when Echizen hurt his eye during that match and kept going!" Momo recalled aloud.

They quieted as Oishi spoke to me again. "Ok, are you ready? I'm going to pop your shoulder back into place." I nodded and gritted my teeth as he set one hand on my shoulder and the other on my upper arm. He jerked them together and with a loud crack, it fit back into place. I gasped out at the pain, seeing Kawamura appearing to almost faint but Momo kept him up. "There, all better." Oishi smiled. "I'm impressed at how well you handled it. Now be gentle to start-"

His voice faltered as he saw me already on my feet, both eyes closed in concentration. Everyone stared but I blocked them out as I started pushing my arms away from my sides. "Ow…" I whimpered quietly.

"Hey, I said to take it easy!" Oishi shouted.

Instead, I just strained harder. "Ow, ow, ow…" I continued in a high pitched yelp as the sticky bonds began stretching out.

"Don't know about you guys, but I'm going to help." Momo declared as he went to my side and grabbed hold of the junk. He gritted his teeth as he began pulling as hard at he could. "Hey." He gasped. "Someone hand Kawamura a racket!"

"But…" The timid voice suddenly burst into shouts as the racket was inserted into his hand. "Come on baby!" He shouted, crossing towards us as well. "Burning!" He stood behind me, as Momo stood in front, and grabbed hold as well, also pulling. Everyone else just started in quiet shock. There was a strange noise as the stuff began to strain and suddenly came apart with a loud snap. All three of us toppled over, landing in a heap on the ground.

The tennis racket clattered to the ground and Kawamura's face turned bright red. "Oh, I'm sorry Kira-senpai!" He cried, jerking himself free and pulling me up as well. Momo was left to gather himself up.

"Thanks." I laughed. "And just Kira is fine." I began stretching out my arms, in front of me and behind my back, and high into the air. "Yeah, this is much better." I turned to the group who was staring at me. "You guys might want to back up a bit." I said with a small smirk. "Gotta test out my arms again." They scurried back as a group as I drew my sword. I dipped the end under the restraints we had just removed, which now looked like simple rope. Tossing it into the air, I swung downward once, splitting it down the middle along its length. I sheathed my sword and snagged one half in each hand, letting out a little spirit energy that was suddenly reachable again. The ends caught fire and disappeared completely in puffs of smoke. I sheathed the sword and turned around, flashing a victory sign to the group of shocked guys. _How can I not show off...? They are all so cute!_ I thought to myself with a grin. _They are younger than me though..._ I continued, hidingaslight pout."How was that? Oh, and before I forget…" I placed my hand on the cut on my arm. It glowed green for a second and then I removed it, pulling off the bandage along with the hand. "Oishi, you're a miracle worker." I teased.

"But I just… It was still bleeding!" He stammered in shock.

I grinned. "Just a little skill of mine." There was an awkward silence, which I broke hesitantly. "Umm… Anyone want to show me how to play tennis?" I asked quietly.

"Err, have you played anything like it before?" Fuji asked.

"I've done soccer, basketball and softball… Any of those count…?" I laughed nervously.

"No, not really…"

"I will teach you!" Momo cried, stepping forward. He left the group and picked up a spare racket, then returned to my side. He placed it in my hands and took my shoulders, leading me to one of the courts. "Stand there." He instructed. I nodded and watched as he picked up his own racket and stood on the court opposite me. "Ready?" He called, tossing a tennis ball in his hand.

"Yes!" I called, gripping the racket tightly.

"Alright…" He started as he tossed the ball into the air. "Here…!" He slammed it at me and I acted out of instinct, swinging and batting it back.

"I hit it!" I cried excitedly, jumping for it as the ball came back to me. "I got it again!"

Momo laughed. "Ok, I can see you are kind of a natural. Try this then!" He swung with both arms, slamming the ball to the corner away from me as he spoke.

"Ah!" I started in surprise as I leapt towards it, bare feet sliding across the ground as I managed to tap it back towards him in the air.

"She got to it…!" I heard the others whispering in shock.

"Not bad, but you've set it up perfectly!" Momo cried. I stared wide eyed as he leapt high into the air close to the net after the ball that I had weakly hit back to him. "Dunk smash!" He screamed as he slammed it downwards.

"Tch…" I muttered as I leapt towards it again, caught off guard by the ball's sudden increase in speed. Somehow, I got beside the ball and swung with both hands, sending it flying back towards him. Frantically he held his racket in front of him. The ball hit and bounced off back onto his half of the court. He stared from it to me, blinking in confusion. "How… did you do that?"

I shrugged, smiling nervously. "I don't know… Beginners luck?"

"I want to play her!" Kikumaru shouted, almost bouncing in excitement.

"But that was luck!" I protested.

"No way…" He persisted, pushing Momo out of the way. "Ready? Go!" He served the ball before I had a chance to reply. With a startled cry, I ran for it, swatting it back over the net to him. He ran to it, hitting to the corner furthest away from me. I got to it without much trouble and knocked it back to him again. "Hoi hoi!" He shouted, hitting it much harder than before.

"Ah!" I cried, taken off guard. It was just out of reach. Without even thinking, I tossed the racket to my left hand and slammed it back to him once more. "What's… wrong…?" I blinked as he just stared at me, letting it go by. I turned and saw the others all staring as well. "What?"

"Nitouryuu…" Inui murmured, taking more notes.

"What's Nitouryuu?" I asked them, returning to the group, with Kikumaru right behind me.

"Nitouryuu is when you can switch hands and hit with both." Inui explained.

"But I can't do that!" I protested, voice faltering as Fuji pointed to the racket I was now clutching in my left hand.

"Didn't you start with it in your right hand?" He asked with an amused smile on his face.

"Oh…" I nodded, laughing uneasily. "I must've done it out of instinct…"

"Lets see…" Inui said, almost to himself. "She's extremely fast, strong enough to return Momo's dunk smash, acts upon instinct to return difficult shots…"

I blushed, scratching the back of my head. "Beginners luck…"

"…modest…" Inui added to his list. "Hey, are you thirsty?"

I nodded. "Yeah…" I said hesitantly, taking the glass Inui handed to me. It was full of an almost puke green colored liquid that seemed to have a sludgy texture. I sniffed it warily. "Gross… it stinks! What is this?"

"Just try it." Inui said eagerly.

"I wouldn't…" Momo warned.

"Oh, it's not that bad." Fuji smiled.

"What are you talking about?" Kikumaru screamed at him.

Everyone turned to see me gulping down the contents with both eyes closed. Wordlessly and with eyes still tightly shut, I handed Inui the cup and wiped the back of my wrist across my mouth. I kept it held there as I felt it trying to come back up. Suddenly my eyes flew wide and my other hand flew to my stomach. "Oh crap!" I shouted, gagging right after.

Kikumaru grabbed my wrist and led me away where I collapsed and threw up once. "Disgusting…" I muttered, wiping my mouth and climbing back to my feet. He brought me to wash my face and hands and then we returned to the group. "That is some nasty shit you got there." I said, with a forced smile as I spoke through clenched teeth.

"You're… already over it?" Inui asked in surprise.

"Yes… you expected me to be out longer? Well that was nice…" I gagged again. "Ugh, trying to kill me!" I glared at him as he took more notes and stuck out my tongue, trying to rid myself of the aftertaste.

"Here." I caught the water bottle as it came flying at me and drank without hesitation, looking afterwards to see the name written on it: Kaidoh.

I smiled as I handed it back to him. "Thanks."

"Ssss…" He hissed as he took it and turned away again.

"Well… now what?" I grinned.

"I know!" Momo almost shouted. "You can come shopping with me and Echizen! We have to go anyway."

"Umm… ok?" I laughed. "But what about my appearance?" Wordlessly Kaidoh walked behind me and tied the bandana back onto my head. I laughed and thanked him, smiling as he blushed and moved away. I tucked my tail back into a belt loop and looked up. "I guess I'm ready… Oh! Is it ok to leave Akumei with you guys?" I asked the group. Akumei was still passed out on the bench.

Oishi nodded. "Yes, we'll take care of him."

"Thanks!" I called as Momo was already pulling me away. He, Echizen and I were out of view before I finished speaking. "What's the big hurry?" I asked, a little annoyed.

"Oh, no rush. I just want to make sure we get to the store quick enough that they'll still have the things we need in stock. Don't want a repeat of last time, do we Echizen?"

The boy just closed his eyes and kept walking. "Not much of a talker are you?" I laughed.

He stopped and turned to stare at me. "What exactly are you? Ow!" He asked, yelling right after as Momo hit him across the head.

"Well that's really rude!" He shouted.

"I know you're wondering too!" Echizen yelled back.

"Wondering what?" I jumped and spun around as the voice came from behind me. There was a boy with brown hair that covered one eye with another who had shoulder length purple hair standing slightly behind him. "Didn't mean to scare you…" The brown haired one laughed.

"Oh, it's all right." I smiled.

"Kamio, what are you doing here?" Momo shouted, getting defensive.

"Just walking through town. What about yourselves?" Kamio asked.

"And did you just ask this girl what she was?" The purple haired boy, Ibu, added.

"Well it's a reasonable question." Echizen pointed out.

"Hush!" I cried, turning towards the new pair. "He doesn't know what he's talking about…"

"Why don't you show them what's under the bandana?" Echizen smirked.

I shot him a glare as Kamio stared at me. "Hey… isn't that the snake's bandana?"

"Yeah, he let her borrow it." Momo replied. "So cute!"

"Ugh, shut up!" I cried in embarrassment.

"The snake? Being nice to a girl? No way…" Kamio scoffed.

"What are those bulges?"Ibu asked.

"W-what bulges?" I stammered, bringing a hand instinctively to my head.

"You obviously know they're there."Ibu pointed out, reaching for the bandana. I shrank away but Kamio jumped behind me and pulled at it. We had a short tug o war before it finally slipped from my fingers and they both stared for a moment. "Then I suppose this is your tail?"Ibu asked, pulling at the fur around my waist so it fell from the belt loop. "Ah, I wasn't being serious. Are they real…?" I nodded reluctantly.

"Now I want to know what you are too…" Kamio murmured.

I sighed, bowing my head slightly. "Mostly wolf demon with human and dog demon mixed in as well…" All four froze and stared and I felt my face turning red. "What…!" I shouted defensively, pulling the bandana back and replacing it on my head.

"A demon, huh?" Kamio smirked.

"Don't make fun when she could kick your ass in a foot race." Momo bragged.

"Quiet, don't say that!" I pleaded.

"Oh, she could?" Kamio asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, lucky for you I'm in my rhythm! Let's have a race, right here, right now."

"Go get him Kira!" Momo urged, pushing me forward.

Kamio stood with his arms crossed confidently. "Ready?"

"I guess… where are we racing to?" I asked.

He laughed. "Just try to keep up and you'll see for yourself."

I frowned at him and got ready to bolt forward as heprepared also,right beside me. Suddenly I wanted to beat him to knock him down a few notches. He was too cocky! "Go!" Momo shouted and Kamio took off with me right on his heels.

He looked over his shoulder, expecting me to be far behind but instead I was right there with him. His eyes widened and he increased his pace. I grinned and pulled up even with him. "Is this the best you can do?" I asked, sticking out my tongue.

"N-no!" He stammered and sped up once more but I easily kept with him.

"Don't try to best a demon who's already naturally this fast. Plus I've undergone intense training to increase my speed further." I pointed out to him. He stared at me for a second and then stopped suddenly. I jumped and froze as well, sliding forward a bit on the pavement and then backing up to stand beside him again. "What's wrong?"

"I give up. You're obviously much faster than I am and there's no point in tiring ourselves out."

"Oh… alright then." I smiled. "But you are extremely fast for a human."

"Thanks." He replied with a laugh.

We both looked up as Ibu, Momo and Echizen came sprinting up the road after us. "What? Why have you stopped already?" Momo asked in confusion.

"I gave up." Kamio said bluntly.

"What? Why Kamio?"Ibu asked, voice somehow constantly void of all emotion.

He just laughed again. "Well you can see I'm already starting to breathe heavily and she's still perfectly fine. Well, we'll see you later." Both Kamio andIbu turned to leave.

"Wait!" I called them back. "You have to let me take your picture, preferably with me in it as well."

"Why…?" Kamio asked untrustingly.

"I'm keeping track of all the people I meet and now you two are now included in that." I grinned. Eventually I got each of them to agree and I stood in between them while Momo snapped the picture. "Thanks!" I cried as the two walked off, waving as they went.

Once they were gone, Momo turned on me. "Hey, don't you want a picture of me?"

I nodded. "Yes, but with the rest of your team as well."

With Momo satisfied by my answer, he, Echizen and I went to the store to pick up some tennis gear and then hurried back to the courts. We had already wasted enough time with the short meeting and race.

"Wow… they're so good!" I cried as we returned with the boys in sight. They were practicing vigorously and rarely made any mistakes that I could see. We walked up quietly and I sat with the newly bought goods on the bench where Akumei still slept while Momo and Echizen joined the others.

After a couple hours of watching their monotonous play, I began to feel weary and eventually drifted off into sleep. My dreams were very troubled. In them I was running, being chased by something I could not see. Then I realized I wasn't running but flying instead! I pictured it perfectly, the wings emerging from my back and them spread high above me, flapping once downward every now and then to propel myself forward. Then suddenly it was upon me! I couldn't see it but I felt it tearing at my back, pulling on the wings, ripping them out! I started screaming.

"Kira…? Kira-senpai! Wake up!"

"Wha…?" I moaned, slowly removing my hands from my face. I saw Oishi's worried face peering into my now gray eyes.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"What happened?" I whimpered, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"You were screaming. I think you may have been having a nightmare." Fuji informed me.

"A nightmare? What happened to make you freak out like that?" Kikumaru asked.

"Something was chasing me… Then it caught me and started clawing my back…" I shivered from the image and immediately yelped in pain.

"What happened?" Momo cried.

"I don't know…!" My voice trailed off as I realized what had happened. Slowly I leaned forward and the huge feathery black wings spread out on either side of me, confirming my fears. When I had pictured it in my dream, they had come out in real life. "My wings came out…" I murmured. Wincing, I climbed to my feet, causing the group of boys gathered around me to scramble backwards. I clenched my fist as droplets of blood fell from my back to spatter on the ground below.

"You have wings…? But how?"

"During a fight with a demon… I inhaled some gas he made and the result was my getting wings." I sighed. "Though it still hurts me to withdraw and release them…" my eyes closed and I fell forward but someone caught me and held me up. "It takes a lot of energy as well…" I whispered. "To make them come out…"

"Kaidoh, lie her on her stomach and I'll bandage her back." Oishi ordered. Slowly I was lowered to the ground and Oishi sat on his knees beside me, first aid kit in hand once more. He lifted my shirt in the back and went about bandaging around my shoulder blades but the wings made it difficult for him. "Well, it's not the prettiest job but it should stop the bleeding soon. You're not going to simply heal yourself again after all my hard work, are you?"

"I don't think so…" I murmured, pushing myself up to sit on my knees.

"Are you usually plagued by this much trouble?" Fuji asked.

I shook my head. "No, usually it's worse. I don't know how many times I've been cut, stabbed, shot, kidnapped, or captured…" I muttered, face grim.

"Wow…" Kawamura gasped with wide eyes. "It's tough being a demon!"

"Not really… I think it's just me." I said darkly.

I stood, wobbling slightly, and started back towards the bench where Akumei sat. I stumbled and was immediately caught by Fuji, who was the nearest at the time. "You need to take it easy… wait, are you ok?" He asked, looking at me closer.

I whimpered, sinking to my knees again and supporting myself with my arms. "I bring trouble wherever I go to whoever I meet! Sometimes I don't think it's worth going on anymore…" Big tears dropped to splatter on my clenched hands and I lowered my head to try to hide my face. "Tezuka had to stop practice and Akumei's too tired to do anything other than sleep just because he's trying to spare me anymore pain. Every time I can't defend myself, someone else steps in to help and gets hurt themselves. I-I can't do this anymore!" I was sobbing openly now, on my knees, forehead pressed to the pavement with my clenched fists on each side. The bandages on my back were already soaked crimson with blood and that just added to my pain. "I can't do this…"

Someone kneeled in front of me and lifted my head gently so I was forced to look at them. It was Oishi again. "It's alright, don't even think such things." He smiled warmly but I could see the sad look in his eyes. It made me feel guilty for troubling him with my problems. _I should have kept them inside!_ I screamed at myself. _Like I usually do…_

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry… I shouldn't bother others with my troubles…" I whimpered as more tears leaked out.

"No, what you shouldn't do is keep them locked inside. They'll keep eating at you until something like this happens." Oishi scolded lightly. "Now, get up and calm down." He ordered, wiping my tears away.

I nodded and pushed myself up. Oishi and Fuji took my arms and helped me climb to my feet again and I was soon able to stand freely. "I'm sorry…" I whispered, wiping my face. "I'm fine now…"

"You're not going to try anything are you Kira-senpai?" Kawamura asked anxiously.

I smiled, shaking my head. "No, I'm sorry for worrying you…"

"So, you're really fine now?" Kikumaru asked and I nodded. "Alright then, do those wings really work?"

I laughed, normal good nature returning. "Yes, they actually do."

"Could I see?" He asked with eyes full of wonder.

I glanced around, checking to make sure no one else may be watching, and smiled. "I guess so." I laughed as the wings spread out. I winced as they rubbed against the torn flesh of my back but shrugged it off. "Ready?" I asked and without waiting for an answer, flapped the black feathered wings once. I shot from the ground, soaring high into the sky. My shadow fell over the boys who stared upwards with open mouths. I laughed and waved, once again my normal, cheerful, self, with eyes green again. I swooped down and landed in front of them, smiling with amusement as they all ducked in union.

Suddenly my smile faded and I began wincing again, eyes tightly shut. "What's-" I cut off whoever had spoken with a wave of my hand and held both sides of my head tightly. _Kira…?_ It was that young girl's voice again.

_Yes, I'm here._

_Ok, are you ready to try again?_

_Of course._ I said with a short laugh.

_All right, get ready._

The voice faded and I glanced back towards the staring guys. "Well, I'm about to attempt to return home to my own world." I smiled nervously.

"Oh yeah… The world switching, right?" Momo asked.

I nodded. "Yes, I'm about to be transported again." I jogged to Akumei's side and stood him up, supporting him by holding his arm around my own shoulder and my other around his waist. "Oh…!" I turned to Kaidoh. "Do you need you're bandana back?"

"Keep it." He said shortly, turning away slightly.

I smiled and nodded. "Alright, thanks." I left it tied upon my head. "One last thing… I'm taking pictures of all who I meet during my _travels_. Could I have a picture of all you guys?" Somehow, I got every one of them to stand in position and set up the camera. I jumped in the middle as it flashed and retrieved it, returning it to the bag. "Thanks a lot!" I jumped as I began to glow and quickly picked Akumei back up as I had done before. "Well…" I started, turning to the group who had so quickly darted backwards away from my glowing form. "It's been fun. Thanks for putting up with me."

"Take care of yourself!" Oishi called.

"I will." I laughed. In the middle of exchanging goodbyes with them all, I disappeared, leaving them to stare at the empty patch of tennis court.

Momo crossed over and picked up the old tennis racket I had used. "Man, I wish she could've stuck around!" He laughed.

"She was really here… wasn't she?" Kawamura asked quietly.

Kaidoh brought a hand to his head, grabbed some hair gently between his fingers, and nodded. He uttered one word, "bandana."

* * *

**Note**: Echizen is 12, Momo and Kaidoh are 13 and the others are 14 while Kira is 16.  
Senpai is a term used to refer to elders or someone of a superior title. Kira is older and therefore referred to as "senpai".

* * *

"Have you transported her again?" Hiei asked the girl as he saw her leaning back again. 

She nodded and replied in her quiet voice. "Yes, she's on her way somewhere new right now."

"Hey, what are you doing?" Hiei yelled, turning now on Kyoshi.

The demon was bent over, concentrating hard on the something that lay on the ground before him. He looked over his shoulder. "Just experimenting."

"With what?" came the sharp reply. "More unknown gas?"

"No way, this time I'm sure of the outcome. I think Kira will like it too." Kyoshi returned with a grin.

"Hn." Hiei muttered and crossed his arms grumpily over his chest.


	38. One Piece

* * *

I was falling headfirst, clutching Akumei tightly in my arms, which was difficult considering he was bigger than I was. I flapped my wings to slow our descent and managed to flip right side up. Next forcing my eyes open, I looked down at what awaited us. Immediately fear gripped me. "Oh no…!" I whispered as I stared around desperately but no matter where I looked, all that lay below was water. I was falling quickly into an ocean. 

I flapped the wings again, bringing us to a slow downward drift as I thought over my options. _Ok, chances are my wings will be coated in oil so I'll be able to lift from the water without having to wait for them to dry. On the other hand, maybe they'll sink in the water and pull me under. I can't depend on my self to stay hovering above because Akumei is too heavy for me to hold for more than little amounts at a time. I don't even see a tiny abandoned island anywhere! Oh crap, what am I supposed to do?_

I screamed aloud as my foot touched the water and pulled it up quickly, shifting the slipping Akumei in my arms. Flapping the wings didn't seem to help much at all, as I felt my other foot touch the waves. I pulled it up as well and hovered above for a moment. Suddenly, I felt as if something was pulling on my wing. I glanced down and saw the tip of my right one in the water. The other flopped awkwardly on its own as I was pulled down by the wet feathers. "Shouldn't feathers float?" I screamed uselessly as it was sucked further in. My feet were submerged now and soon my whole body was in with a splash. I clung to Akumei, my arms around his chest and face in his back. My head kept bobbing under but at least he was staying up.

I reopened my eyes and looked around, feeling as if something was slowly advancing. I shivered and screamed as I thought I felt something brush against my leg. _You are just imagining things. Stop it._ I told myself. Nevertheless, I found myself scanning the surrounding waters and my heart leapt. There was a boat approaching! "Hey!" I screamed, waving an arm frantically over my head. "Over here!" I didn't even stop to consider what kind of people might have been on the ship. All that mattered was getting Akumei and me out of this water.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it and froze for a second in sheer terror. It was darting towards me through the waves, advancing rapidly with mouth wide open. Row upon row of needle sharp teeth flashed in the sunlight and I recoiled, instinctively reaching for my sword. I stopped myself, realizing I would not be able to use it properly in the water and that, if I happened to drop it, it would be lost forever to the sea.

It was upon me. Holding Akumei weakly in one arm I closed my eyes and kicked out with my foot as hard as I could. It found its mark, slamming against the nose of the shark that writhed and turned away, a trail of blood following it. _It's following the scent of blood from my back..._ I realized.

"Did you see that?" Someone shouted seemingly from above me. "She kicked that shark!"

I turned and opened my eyes, pulling back in surprise and briefly going under. I gagged and came back up gasping. There was a boy with black hair and a straw hat grinning down at me.

A man with green hair shoved him aside, shouting, "What are you waiting for? Pull her aboard!"

"Him first!" I objected, offering Akumei. The man hesitated and then glanced over my shoulder. His eyes widened and Akumei was jerked from the water.

Fearfully, I looked over my own shoulder and before I had time to react, the shark's mouth was in my face. I screamed and flinched back hopelessly, waiting for the teeth to tear my face off. It didn't happen. Hesitantly I opened my eyes and saw the shark swimming away as fast as it could. There was a whole school of them, about ten sharks, all departing rapidly.

"Sharks! They're swarming in!" A man with curly hair and a long nose yelled frantically.

"Must be because of the blood in the water. But they seem to be leaving now..." A red haired girl pointed out.

"Will you all shut up and do something?" The green haired man yelled as he threw Akumei to straw hat. He reached for me and our fingertips met before I was pulled under. Instantly the man threw off his swords and leapt in after me.

"Zolo!" Straw hat shouted but he was already in the water, following the mixture of blood and bubbles.

Below the surface, I was struggling, panic stricken, with the tentacle that has risen from the depths to wrap itself firmly around both of my legs, pinning them together. Deciding to risk it, I drew my sword and swung downward, movement slowed by the water yet still just as effective. The tentacle went slack as its other half twitched slightly and then stilled, floating upwards. I pulled the other half from me, just as another sprang up to grab me around the waist. It squeezed hard and I opened my mouth to gasp for air, barely managing to stop myself from inhaling the water. I swung the sword sluggishly through the water again and sliced this one as well. Another tentacle did not bother to replace it.

When Zolo saw the mutilated limb float by, he had to clamp his hands over his mouth to keep from opening it and releasing all the air in shock. _What is that…?_ He thought as he continued downwards. His eyes widened as he saw something drifting towards him from below. _A monster?_ He looked closer and made out the form of a girl, my form, and what had thrown him off were the two huge feathery black wings and the bloody tentacle clamped around her waist. _What is she? _He thought before noticing my eyes were closed. He struck out and dove to meet me. Holding me tightly around the waist, he kicked hard and swam towards the surface. He emerged, gasping for air beside the ship. Hands immediately grabbed him and pulled him upwards just as another shark collided with the side of the ship where we had just been floating. It seemed a couple had decided it safe to return.

"Ewww!" The girl screamed, recoiling as she saw the thing around my waist. "And she's getting blood all over the deck!"

"Shut up Nami!" Zolo said impatiently as he laid me out on my back. Placing a hand on either side of it, he pried the tentacle from around me, tossing it back into the ocean. The sharks swarmed, ripping it to pieces. Zolo looked at my hand, marveling at the sword I clutched. _Why does she… have a sword?_ He shook his head and moved closer, trying to pull it from my hand. Finally he gave up, deciding there was no way he was removing my unyielding grip from the handle.

Now, almost reluctantly, he placed a hand on my chest. There was a pause and then he set his ear near my mouth, feeling for a breath. "She's not breathing…!" He cried suddenly, pulling back. Then, without even thinking, he pushed hard on my stomach and held my nose, pressing his mouth to mine. Everyone else stared in stunned silenced and he breathed into me and pressed again on my stomach before breathing again. He lifted once more and thrust both hands downwards.

I lurched upwards, gagging and coughing as the salty water dripped from my mouth and then stared around stupidly. "W-what happened…?" I managed weakly.

The girl, Nami, gave me an amused smirk. "Zolo here just revived you with mouth to mouth." I felt my face instantly turn bright red as I stared at the one she had referred to.

He was sitting slouched with his back to me in embarrassment. "You weren't breathing…" He finally said after a long silence.

I smiled weakly. "Thanks…" I whispered as I sat up fully, feeling the pain in my back greatly increased because of the salt water. I gritted my teeth as my eyes swirled gray and then closed them, focusing as best I could. After what felt like forever, I finally felt the warmth of spirit energy in my hand. With a relieved smile, I placed the glowing hand on my shoulder to allow the torn skin around the wings to heal. Turning towards Zolo I asked quietly, "You aren't hurt anywhere, are you?"

"N-no…" He stammered, staring with wide eyes.

I nodded and released the energy back into my body. I noticed the sword lying beside me and sheathed it, afterwards collapsing with an exhausted sigh. "Akumei is safe, right?"

"Yes, he's right over here." Straw hat answered, pointing to Akumei who lay limply beside him. I nodded my approval and then drifted into sleep.

* * *

I awoke slowly, regarding the room with roaming eyes. It was wooden and I was in a small bed. Akumei had been set against the side of my bed and I felt another out of range of my eyesight. Holding my stomach, I forced myself to sit up, supporting myself with one arm. 

"Hey, you probably shouldn't move too much yet." Someone advised me.

I turned and saw the boy with the straw hat sitting on a backwards chair so he could face me. "Why? Am I badly injured? I just feel sore…"

He nodded. "Your stomach and legs have bruises all over them from whatever grabbed you."

"Oh…" I said in a near whisper as I looked down at myself. My eyes flew wide. "Hey, these aren't my clothes!"

The boy laughed loudly. "Yours were wet! And don't worry, Nami was the one who changed you."

"O-ok…" I murmured, blushing. Slowly I pulled back the covers and stared at my legs. The pale skin had broad strips of bluish gray circling it around the knees. Reluctantly I looked at my stomach and saw the same bruises around it and my waist. "Yeah, I feel sore…"

The boy laughed again, offering a hand. "I'm Luffy."

I smiled and took it. "I'm Kira."

"Are you able to walk?" I nodded and he pulled me to my feet. "Well then, lets go meet the rest of my crew!" I was almost dragged out the door and Luffy looked around as if searching for the others but there was no need. As soon as we stepped from the room, they swarmed around us. "This is Nami, Zolo, and Usop!" Luffy said, indicating each one, last being the curly haired one. "They're my pirate crew!"

"It's an angel!" Someone cried out and I felt them grab my hand. I turned in surprise and saw a tall blonde man kneeling in front of me. He smiled and kissed my hand causing me to blush crimson.

"Oh, and this is our cook, Sanji."

"Hey, I'm part of the crew too Luffy. How could you just leave me out?" Sanji said, glaring at him as he stood again.

"But I didn't… You were busy cooking!" Luffy replied.

"So what? I would've gladly stopped for her." I stood self consciously blushing as Sanji circled me, tugging lightly on one wing. "What exactly is this damsel you have saved Zolo?"

"I'm not exactly sure…" Zolo replied and they all began to stare expectantly at me.

I sighed and smiled nervously. "Well I'm actually a wolf demon with dog demon and human in me as well."

There was a long silence, which Luffy finally broke. "Are you sure you didn't just eat a forbidden fruit?"

"A… what…?" I asked, blinking.

"Gum-gum fruit. If you eat it, it gives you strange powers. It made me a rubber man!" To prove this he stuck a finger in the inside of his cheek and pulled, stretching his face with the hand. He released and it sprang back into place.

I remained staring for a moment and then laughed aloud. "Wow… But yeah, I'm sure I didn't eat any strange fruits to get like this."

"Let's say I believe you." Zolo began, arms crossed. "Why would a wolf demon have wings? In addition, where did you come from? There's no land in sight, unless you were on a ship that sunk…"

I shook my head. "First off, I got my wings while in a fight. He threw some gas he made at me and when I inhaled it, wings sprouted from my back. This is the part you're really not going to believe. I was transported here from another world. Akumei is too heavy for me to hold up for long so I was pulled into the water."

"Transported… from another world?" Nami said, unbelieving. "That makes even some of Usop's stories seem realistic!"

"Hey!" Usop shouted.

I just laughed. "Well, believe what you want. I know it's true." I replied, shrugging.

"Akumei… That was the man you were with?" Zolo asked and I nodded. "He was unconscious when you handed him to me and still is. Is he ok?"

I nodded again. "Yes, he's just tiring himself out. When we are transported, it takes energy from us. In order to keep me fine, he is taking all of it upon himself so I remain unaffected. He however, barely awakens for more than five minutes at a time as a result."

There was another long silence as everyone just stared from me to the room where Akumei lay. "Do you think my clothes are dry yet?" I asked, breaking the emptiness. I was told where they had been hung and then went to change. I laughed at myself as I pulled on the one sleeved black shirt and then the rapidly fading blue jeans. Firmly tying Kaidoh's bandana into a belt loop of my pants, I returned to the others.

Before anything could be said, a beeping filled the air and Sanji excused himself before rushing off.

"Looks like dinner is almost ready…" Zolo said, turning towards me. "When's the last time you ate?"

"Truthfully…?" I laughed. He nodded and I paused, thinking about it. "Umm… I guess a few weeks… maybe over a month now. I can't keep track."

"What?" I jumped as Sanji cried out in horror from behind me. "You have to eat, now. I'm amazed you're able to move!" He took my shoulders and steered me into a room, plopping me down in a chair. "Eat." He commanded as he set a bowl of steaming soup in front of me and then set more at intervals around the table.

Zolo laughed as he took the seat beside me. "It's not poisoned or anything." As if to prove this, he spooned a load into his mouth.

I smiled softly, suddenly aware of how hungry I was. Slowly I lifted the spoon and scooped a taste into my mouth. "Oh wow…" I laughed. "It tastes as good as it smells!"

I saw Sanji beaming proudly out of the corner of my eye as he sat down on my other side. "So you like it then?" He asked. I nodded and I ate another bite.

It took all of my willpower to keep from sticking my nose in the bowl and slurping it up like a dog. I laughed at the image it brought to my head and forced myself to eat normally with the others. Once everyone was done, I stood and pulled the camera out. Somehow, it had stayed perfectly dry inside its case. I don't know what I would have done if it had broken. "Hey, can I get everyone's picture please?" I asked aloud.

"Why?" Luffy asked.

I smiled. "Because I'm trying to keep track of all I meet during my _travels_." They all agreed and the picture was snapped with me in the middle of the group of five.

As if on cue, my head pounded once and I crouched low, holding it tightly.

_Kira?_ It was the girl again.

_Yeah, I'm here._

_Ok, I'm about to transport you again. Are you ready?_

_Yeah._

_Wait… you're hurt!_

I laughed quietly. _Don't worry about it, I'm fine. But don't tell Hiei ok? He's the mean short one._

_All right… Get well soon._ She murmured and then her voice faded.

I stood, still holding my head, and smiled at the shocked faces, which all stared at me. "It always seems to happen right after a picture is taken…" I said as I placed the camera in the bag again.

"What just happened…?" Luffy asked in confusion.

"I'm about to be transported again. The girl who's doing it just warned me."

"You mean you were serious about it all?" Nami exclaimed.

I nodded, jumping as I began to glow. "Oh man…" I looked up, suddenly almost panic stricken. "I have to get to Akumei right now!"

Zolo took my hand and started pulling me away but I tripped and stumbled on my bruised legs. Glancing at my face he new immediately how important this was and he grabbed up my glowing form without further thought. He ran from the room with the others following quickly behind and burst into Akumei's room. Zolo set me down gently beside him and backed away.

"Thank you…" I smiled, red faced. Suddenly my entire arm flickered. "Bye! Thanks all of you for everything!" I cried hurriedly as I threw my arms around Akumei. In another instant, we were gone.

"She really wasn't kidding…" Nami whispered in disbelief.

* * *

"I've done it again…" The girl whispered, jumping fearfully as Hiei yelled at the same time. 

"Where do you think you're going?" He snapped at Kyoshi, who had gotten to his feet.

"I'm going for a quick fly and I have to find something to finish this…" He grinned and faced the girl. "And I have complete confidence in her ability to bring Kira back so I don't even have to worry at all." She smiled at him gratefully but Hiei just glared venomously.

"Don't be long…" He spat.

"Yes mom…" Kyoshi laughed as he soared off into the night sky.

Hiei clenched his fists, shaking in silent rage. Forcing calm, he stared up at the moonless sky. _Why did you have to revive him…?_ He thought hopelessly. He remained for a long time after, just looking straight up.

The girl watched him warily and then, deciding he had himself under control, relaxed and closed her eyes again. Once more, she started the tiresome process of seeking me out.


	39. Tsubasa Chronicles

* * *

As soon as I felt myself falling, I flapped the wings to slow our decent. I was holding Akumei tightly but the last minute clinging had resulted in awkward positioning. His chin was propped on my shoulder as if he was looking over it. His arms hung limply at his sides as I held him tightly as I could around his stomach. He was steadily slipping downwards. 

I opened my eyes and glanced around for a quick landing spot. At first, I was taken by surprise. _When was the last time I found myself in a huge city like this?_ Shaking my head, I focused on my current task and spotted the construction beams of an incomplete skyscraper towering up into the night sky. It was the closest thing and I quickly decided to land on top of it.

Halfway there, Akumei began slipping twice as fast as before. "Just a little further…!" I was almost shouting. It was hard not to dig my claws into him to get a better grip and I kept catching myself about to do so. I closed my eyes, flapping the wings desperately as I inched towards the building.

Suddenly my feet hit something solid and, assuming it was the building, I landed on it, sitting on my knees and holding Akumei close. Only when I became aware of another nearby did I open my eyes. I jumped in surprise and a hand reached out to steady me. "Easy there. Don't want to fall, do you?"

I looked up into the face of a young man with orange goggles and brown hair tied back into a ponytail. Stupidly, I glanced down to see what I was sitting on and gasped out in shock. "What is that?" I nearly screamed. It was a blue creature resembling a stingray except it was huge! There was plenty of room for several others besides the three of us to stand on it. It was also slightly see through, like water.

He laughed. "What, you've never seen a Kudan before? Even though you seem to be using one yourself?"

"Kudan…?" I repeated, clueless.

"What? You mean you really don't know what it is? Then how do you have wings and ears and… a tail too…?"

"I was born with them…" I said in a near whisper. "The wings are the result of an experiment…"

"What are…?" He began but his voice trailed off as he saw the sword.

I grinned suddenly, flashing my fangs and causing him to stagger back a few steps. "I'm a demon."

"A demon…?" He repeated fearfully but then he noticed I was wincing. Forgetting himself, he knelt beside me. "Are you ok?"

I nodded, laughing. "Suddenly got your nerve back?" Gritting my teeth, I slid my legs out from under myself. "I'm just covered in bruises, that's all…"

He regarded me carefully. "Bruises, huh? Where are they?"

"…Legs and stomach." I replied hesitantly.

Before I could react he had me pinned and was rolling up my right pants leg. He reached the knee and froze. "What… did this…?" He asked, horrorstruck.

"Something attacked me from the sea." I muttered. I allowed him to lift my shirt to my belly button, just enough to see the bruises and then pulled away. "Yeah, I know. I'm hurt and should take it easy…"

I jumped as he plopped down beside me, removing the goggles to show his gray eyes. "The sea?"

"Yes, but not one from this world. One from another."

"I… don't understand…"

I laughed again. "I didn't think you would… I come from another world and have been transported here on my way trying to return."

He stared at me for a moment and then laughed loudly. "Alright then… Strange thing is, I'm finding that I believe you!"

I grinned. "Good. Umm… Could I… have my picture with you?"

He jumped slightly, startled by the request. "Why…?"

"I'm keeping track of who I meet by having my picture taken with them!" I said cheerfully, pulling out my camera. He laughed and agreed and I quickly snapped a picture before returning it to the bag. "Oh, my name's Kira." I said, holding out a hand.

He took it in his gloved fingers. "I'm Shougo." Standing, he glanced around himself. "I have somewhere to be actually…"

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

He laughed at my sudden alarm. "Don't worry about it. You needed help. I'll just set you down somewhere… You can manage right?" He asked, watching me carefully.

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself." I smiled reassuringly and finally he looked away.

"Ok then…" I felt us begin to descend and clung protectively to Akumei's arm. Shougo looked over as if amused. "And who is he?"

"He's someone who came with me without needing to just to keep me from suffering as much as I should be…" I murmured, bowing my head.

It was silent until we landed and then Shougo jumped off the giant stingray. He helped me get Akumei gently off as well. "Thanks…"

"Don't mention it." He smiled. "I'll see you around!" With that he ran off, the creature disappearing with him.

"No, you probably won't…" I muttered as I pulled myself to my feet. Holding Akumei's arm around my shoulders and mine around his waist, I started wandering the deserted streets.

I don't know how far I had traveled but I did know that I was exhausted. "Ugh… This sucks!" I yelled into the sky.

"What does?" I jumped up fearfully as a cheerful voice sounded from right behind me. It was a tall young man with messy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. He was smiling at me. In his arms, he held creature, also smiling, with a round body, small arms and long feet. There was what seemed to be a red crystal on its forehead. It almost resembled a rabbit with its large, floppy ears.

"Umm… I…" I stammered but two more arrived and I froze up again.

One was short with brown hair and eyes and the last dwarfed the others in height and had black hair and red eyes. They both began staring at me.

The blonde one laughed again. "Don't worry… I'm Fye, that's Syaoran," he indicated the brown haired boy. "And that's Kurorin." I saw the black haired man clench his teeth in annoyance.

"It's Kurogane!" He screamed.

Fye ignored him, now introducing the thing he held. "This is Mokona."

"Mokona! Puu!" It shouted joyously, leaping up and down. I gasped for air as it hit my stomach and then fell backwards. "Mokona isn't that strong!" The thing protested helplessly.

I laughed, clutching my bruised skin lightly. "It's not your fault so don't worry." I reassured it. "It's mine for getting injured."

"Injured?" Fye asked.

I nodded, slightly lifting my shirt. All four stared in silent surprise. "What happened?" Syaoran asked.

"I was attacked by… something…" I murmured.

"Hey!" I looked up as Kurorin, no, I mean Kurogane shouted. "You're wearing a sword!" I flinched away from his accusatory pointing.

"Yeah…" I nodded slowly. "My father made it for me."

My ear twitched as I heard Syaoran whispering to Fye. "Why did you just start talking with her like that?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious she's not from this world either." Fye replied.

I nodded, smiling. "You're right!" They both jumped, surprised that I heard. I tapped an ear and continued. "I'm not from here, I'm from ancient Japan. So you guys are world hopping too?"

"World hopping…? That's an interesting way to put it." Fye laughed. "But yes, I suppose we are. Though this is the first place we've visited so far…"

"Well I've lost count of how many worlds I've been to…" I sighed.

"I'd think that would be a good thing…" Fye murmured.

"Oh, it is! I've met so many cool people! But…" I bowed my head. "I didn't ask to go. I was ambushed and sent away by surprise."

"So was I…" Kurogane muttered angrily.

I gave him a sympathetic smile before remembering that I had knocked Akumei over in my surprise. I picked him up and leaned him up, aware of the others watching. Quietly, I sat crossed legged on the ground beside him.

"Who's that?" Kurogane asked gruffly.

"It's Akumei. He's traveling with me."

"Is he alright…?" Fye asked in alarm.

"Yes… and no." I sighed. "When I'm transported, it tires me out. To spare me the trouble of randomly passing out, he's taking the full load upon himself. That way I can keep moving but he's always asleep. I would rather just take it myself so we could both rest and then travel together after. Now I have to carry him with me but he's too heavy…" I looked up, smiling again. "But I've somehow managed so far. We'll make it home."

"You're too optimistic." Kurogane said, glaring at me. "And you smile too much."

I simply smiled back, shaking my head. "No, just recently I had a breakdown and decided I didn't want to deal with all this crap any longer…" I gave a rueful laugh. "…But I promised some people that I wouldn't try anything so I'm going to hold true to that. Besides, I don't know how much longer my brothers can keep from killing each other if I'm not there to intervene."

"Wow, you come from a great family."

I stuck my tongue out. "Yeah, but at least it never gets boring…"

"What are you?" Kurogane asked bluntly.

I laughed at him. "Well if you want the absolute truth, which it seems like you do, I'm about three fourths wolf demon with the last fourth a mixture of dog demon and human."

"A demon…?" Kurogane asked, suddenly on guard.

"Yeah, but I'm definitely not in the mood to fight right now." I teased. I glanced over at Mokona who was still sulking. "Hey, are you alright?" I asked, rubbing his head. "I'm sorry about earlier, you just caught me by surprise before. I'm ready now if you'll be gentle with me."

He stared at me for a moment and then hopped lightly into my lap. I smiled and hugged him, wincing as he snuggled into my stomach. Fye was about to call him off but I silenced him with my eyes. Suddenly they flew open wide and I gasped for air, receiving none. I grasped my throat as I began to glow. Mokona shrieked fearfully from my lap and I bent over him, holding him protectively in my arms. My eyes were watering and I couldn't breathe! I felt myself changing, losing the tail and ears and markings along with the claws and fangs. _Why can't I breathe?_ I clawed at my throat and felt a hand pull mine down so I couldn't injure myself.

Finally, it ended and I stopped glowing. I sat up and gasped again, this time finding air and breathing in deeply. "Oh man…" I gasped. "I've never not been able to breathe during the transformation…"

"What just happened?" Fye asked calmly, still gripping my hand tightly.

"Are you ok?" Mokona asked in his sing song voice from under the arm I held him with.

I removed it and nodded, wiping my watering eyes. "Where I come from, if you're not a full demon then one night each month you turn into a human. My time is the night of the new moon." I scanned the sky and found only stars. "And it seems like that's tonight." I sighed, bowing my head again. "It seems every time I go somewhere, it's the night of the new moon. I'll turn human and then day will break so I'll change back but then I'm transported and it's a moonless sky there as well so I change again!"

"Wait a second… Why do you still have wings?" Syaoran asked. "Aren't you human now?"

"I was in a tournament of demons and my opponent threw some gas at me. When I inhaled it, it gave me wings. Since they're not a natural part of my demon form, they don't disappear with the rest." I smiled, raising my head as the sliver hair fell to hide one of my now blue eyes. "It's not that bad if you think about it. I lose all of my demonic abilities but I can still fly."

"Mekyo!" I jumped as Mokona started jumping up and down on my bruised legs, his eyes open wide.

"A feather!" Syaoran shouted. "Where is it?"

"Feather…?" I grunted, opening one eye. "I have tons of feathers…"

"We're looking for a white one with markings…" His voice trailed off as he stared at my left wing. "White…"

"Huh?" I jumped again as he ran to my side and crouched beside me, shifting through the feathers. "Ow…" I whimpered.

"Sorry." He said but kept on going. Finally, he pulled back holding a white feather triumphantly. "I got it…"

I collapsed onto my side with a quiet moan and Mokona leapt onto me, slamming the bruises on my waist. "Ah-!" I cut myself off, closing my eyes tight and clenching my teeth together.

"Get off!" Kurogane yelled, knocking Mokona aside. "Are you ok?" He took my shoulders and I braced for the rough jerk I knew was coming but was instead surprised by the slow gentleness, which he used to lift me into his arms. "She needs a doctor or something." He said impatiently as I was held there, blushing with mouth slightly open. My eyes however remained shut by the pain.

I didn't know why I suddenly hurt so much… _Because of the feather…? No…_ I suddenly realized that we were moving. "Wait!" I cried, voice suddenly hoarse. "What about Akumei…?" I trailed off as I saw Fye supporting him easily as we ran along. Mokona insisted upon sitting on my stomach as I was carried. He seemed to think the whole thing a game.

I closed one eye and saw through the other the scenery whipping by as Kurogane and the others ran. _Here I am, causing others trouble again…!_ I frowned and gathered enough strength to speak. "Don't bother, just leave me. I'll be fine! I know you have more important things to deal with."

"Shut up!" Kurogane shouted and I quieted fearfully. His eyes were narrowed in determination. _Determination in what? He didn't seem to like me at all back there. What is he doing this for…?_ Any further thoughts were lost as I fell into blackness.

* * *

I awoke with a start, jerking my head from the pillow and then laying it gently back as I grew dizzy. "Don't try to get up so quickly." I heard Fye laugh. 

I nodded and tried again, slowly this time. After several minutes, I was finally in a sitting position, one arm bracing myself and the other gingerly touching my stomach. I felt bandages there through the shirt. "What good will bandaging bruises do?" I whispered, voice gone.

"Why don't you look at them?" Fye replied.

I stared questioningly at him and lifted my shirt slightly. My eyes widened as I saw the red seeping through. It was dried on the edges, which led me to believe that it had stopped, for now at least. "Why would they be bleeding?" I asked in shock.

"Well they were really strange bruises…" Fye pointed out. I nodded slowly to spare my aching head and looked around the room. I was lying on sheets placed in the center. To my left was another girl with brown hair who seemed to be unconscious. Syaoran was kneeling beside her, clutching her hand in his, oblivious to all else. Fye was sitting by the wall at the end of my bed, holding Mokona so he would not leap on me again and beside him, Akumei had been propped against the wall. Twisting my head slightly around, I glanced over my shoulder and saw Kurogane with arms crossed over his chest as he stared unblinkingly at the ground.

"Sorry to trouble you like this…" I sighed, only one eye open, now gray because of the pain. I was still forced to speak in a whisper as well. "Hey…" I started, just realizing my sword was now sitting next to Akumei. "Who took my sword off me?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kurogane slip his hand under his arm. "Since it's so powerful, it shocks anyone besides me who touches it. That way it can't be used for evil purposes…" I bowed my head so the others couldn't see my face and crawled towards Kurogane, with one arm holding me up, and one hand holding my stomach.

"Stop, you're hurting yourself." He muttered.

I gritted my teeth into a force grin and shook my head. Silently I inched along until I was sitting in front of him, legs bent beside me so I wasn't sitting on the bruises. My face fell as I pulled his hand towards me and saw the deep burn marks covering it. "I-I'm sorry…" I whimpered. "I should have warned you or… something!"

"Shut up, it's not your fault." He replied, voice gentler than I expected.

I bowed my head, allowing the silver hair that fell to remain hiding my face. Closing my eyes, I searched inside for any traces of energy. I found some, much more than I expected, and focused it into my hand, keeping it from leaping to my own wounds. Instead, I placed my hand on Kurogane's, flinching as he winced. "Sorry…" I murmured, still without a voice, as the light spread from my fingers into the burn and healed it up. Only after I was sure that it was entirely better did I remove my hand and place it on my own stomach.

He looked up from examining his hand and stared at me as he realized it. "Hey, why'd you heal me first? You're the one who needed it!" He shouted.

I flinched, head still bowed. "Because it's my fault… I felt guilty…"

I gasped out as he took my shoulder, firmly this time, and shook it once. "Focus less on others and more on yourself. You're going to get killed someday because of it!"

He released me and I sat back, wings brushing the floor as they encircled me, leaving only a slit open in front of me where they couldn't reach. "The sun's up…"

"What?" He asked, stopping as he saw me glow again. He watched quietly through the gap as he saw my eyes close and head bow again. The hair at the top of my head turned black and the color fell downwards through the silver like water, washing it all black as well. Faint red streaks appeared on my left cheek and gradually darkened. The same thing happened with a pale blue crescent moon on my forehead. The nails on the fingers of the hand that gripped my stomach grew out into curved claws and my canine teeth into fangs. Furry black wolf ears appeared on myhead and the tail returned as well.Finally, the glowing ceased and I opened my eyes. He watched in fascination as they swirled from blue to green before his eyes and then blue again but not the icy shade of before. Now they were deep, dark blue with bits of gray splashed in as well… sadness and pain.

The wings pulled back and I was sitting as if nothing had happened, concentrating on healing my bruises. The light encircling my hand grew brighter green and it spread to my waist and legs, staying for almost ten minutes before beginning to fade. With an exhausted sigh, I collapsed against the wall, breathing hard. "I'm… healed…" I gasped out after a moments pause.

Finally, I began to catch my breath again, crawled towards Fye and Akumei, and leaned heavily on the wall between them, back against it. I was facing Kurogane who was glaring at me from across the room. I bowed my head and instead watched the floor.

"Are you all right now?" Fye asked cheerily.

I nodded mutely and remained motionless. A thought popped into my head and I looked up. "Can I take a picture of me with everyone?"

"A… picture…?" Fye questioned.

I quickly explained how I was taking pictures of everyone and slowly they agreed. We managed to get Syaoran and Kurogane to join in and I sat in the middle with Fye beside me and Mokona on my lap again. "Thanks…" I put away the camera and sat with my back to the wall again as everyone returned to their original positions.

Suddenly, I lifted a hand to my hair and let it fall between my fingers. "The green is gone…" I whispered, still not having regained my voice.

"What green? What green?" Mokona cried as he leapt onto my lap.

I flinched and then summoned a sad smile. "I had green streaks in my hair, caused by all the spirit energy that I hold inside, but they're gone now…" I murmured quietly.

"Spirit energy…?" Kurogane asked.

"What I used to heal us…" I replied distractedly as I shifted through the blackness of my hair. I could not fine a single trace of green. _Does this mean my energy is almost gone…?_ I thought sadly.

I don't know how long we sat in that room. Syaoran was still sitting, holding the unconscious girl's hand tightly while Fye was sitting silently as if lost in thought. Occasionally he would smile towards me or Mokona as the hyperactive creature leapt between us. Kurogane was staring expressionlessly at the ground, and I was still sifting through my hair, patting Mokona absentmindedly if he leapt on me.

Finally, Kurogane had had enough. "Why are we just sitting around here doing nothing?" He shouted angrily as he leapt to his feet.

As if in response, I heard the little girl's voice in my head. "I was waiting for this…" I murmured, answering Kurogane, as I closed my eyes.

_Are you all right?_

I laughed at the worried tone. _Yes, I'm fine. Fully healed and everything._

_You don't sound very ok…_

_Well I am, don't worry about it._

There was a pause on her end and then... _Ok, get ready._

I opened my eyes to see that Kurogane had sat down in front of me, watching curiously. "What were you doing?" He asked.

I smiled, eyes green once again. "I just talked with the one who transports me. It's time for me to leave again!"

"Just like that?" Fye asked in surprise.

I nodded as I strapped on my sword and camera bag. "Yeah, seems like our methods of transportation differ slightly. I just have to wait for her to find me and then she sends me somewhere else." I crawled over and pulled Akumei to his feet, then wrapped his arm around my shoulder and my arm around his waist. He was really awkward to fly with… I looked up as I began to glow again. "Thanks for everything you guys. Bye…" I glanced over at the youngest. "Bye Syaoran!"

"Bye…" He replied distractedly.

"Bye…" Fye said cheerfully as he held Mokona to keep him from jumping on me again. Kurogane remained silent. With one last smile and wave at them, I disappeared from the room.

"There are no coincidences in this world…" Fye whispered. "That is what the witch said… We met her for a reason."

"What reason could there be?" Kurogane murmured, and Fye remained silent, unknowing of the answer.

* * *

The young cat girl closed her eyes for a moment, waiting for a wave of dizziness to pass. Once it cleared, she looked around, seeing Hiei with both eyes closed. He seemed to be asleep. _I could probably make a run for it…_ She thought to herself. Kyoshi was still gone as well, yet something held her back. 

At first, she didn't know what it was but then she realized… She wanted to meet the wolf demon she had sent away. She wanted to know if she really would accept her even after what she had done. If she really would treat her humanely, something that she had never experienced before. She was used to fending for herself. Maybe she wouldn't have to be alone anymore! The others spoke so highly of her and she had to know why! Pouting slightly, the girl closed her eyes again to renew her search.


	40. DNAngel Revisited

* * *

Before I even had the chance to look around, something hit me in the side. I started to scream but it faded in my shock as I adjusted Akumei in my arms. The collision had jarred him loose. At the same time, I glanced towards what had hit me. My eyes went wide as I saw Dark stare at me in surprise before flying off. 

Then I became aware of the shouting. "There he is!" "It's the phantom thief!" "Get him quick!" I jerked my head over my shoulder and saw that on a nearby rooftop were several people, all dressed in police uniforms with guns out and ready. I cried out as a bullet whizzed past. Gradually it dawned on me that they thought I was Dark. After all, who else would be flying in the air with black wings in the middle of the night?

"Wait!" A new voice rang out above the others. "Hold your fire, that's not him!"

Before he had finished speaking, another shot rang through the air. I screamed as it found its target and then started falling. Landing with a thud on the building next to the one with the officers, I rolled a few times and then lay still. The hit stunned me for a moment and I lay there for several minutes in a slight daze before the pain finally came.

When I first felt it, I had no idea what was happening and then I got the message loud and clear. I had been shot. It was not a fatal wound, but far from it. I had been hit in my mid right thigh. Now I clutched it tightly with both hands, rolling gently back and forth. Both eyes were shut tight and teeth were clenched as the blood poured out in a steady flow.

I was vaguely aware of shouting close by. Someone screamed "Satoshi" and I snapped my head to the side just in time to see the boy leaping across the gap in between the two buildings. "Don't!" I screamed but he was already in the air. He hit the rooftop I was on and rolled forward, somehow coming up on his feet.

I heard him approaching but couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. They were watering badly and blurring my vision anyway. My ear twitched as Satoshi knelt beside me. "Let me see…" He murmured and practically pried my hands from my leg. "Why are you already covered in blood?" He asked quietly. My stomach, waist and legs were stained with dried blood from the strange bruises. Luckily, the water from my visit to sea had washed it from my back where the wings had emerged.

"I was… attacked!" I gasped out. "But… recently… healed…"

He nodded and told me not to try talking anymore. I heard others drawing closer and something was passed to Satoshi. He set it down beside him and opened the top. _It's a… first aid kit…?_ I guessed with eyes still tightly shut. I tensed as I heard fabric being cut and felt cold metal against my leg above the shot wound. _Scissors…?_

Satoshi noticed my alarm. "Don't worry; I'm just removing the pants leg so I can see it better." I nodded mutely, teeth clamped together as I felt the fabric slide down and off. "Oh, the real doctor's here now."

I grabbed his sleeve as he started to pull back and watched him through one, half closed, storm gray eye. "Don't let them… take me… hospital…!" I forced myself to gasp out. Satoshi nodded and withdrew, making room for the doctor.

"Thanks, I'll take it from here." The young doctor, who seemed about his early twenties, knelt beside me. He smiled with warm, brown eyes. "Don't worry; we'll take care of you." He assured me as I saw him take in all my strange features at a glance. He ignored them, for now, and focused on my leg.

He checked the other side and sighed. "No exit wound, it's still in there." He said, referring to the bullet. "I'm going in… Are you ready?" He warned me and I nodded, closing my eyes again.

"I've sent my men away so there will be no distractions." Satoshi said as he sat on my other side.

"I was hoping you'd keep a couple around. We need to keep her still. She might jerk involuntarily and mess something up, causing further injury."

Satoshi nodded, pushed his glasses into place, and set his hands firmly on my leg, one above and one below the wound. I tensed and yelped and he pulled back, startled. "Her skin looks like it's just been healed…" He said, glancing again atthe many bloodstains on themy clothesand remembering that I had said I was attacked.

"Well we have to act now anyway." The doctor ordered, and Satoshi replaced his hands on my leg. I felt the cold metal plunge into the skin and screamed, starting to writhe around. Satoshi nearly pulled back but caught himself and instead held more firmly. Even with the rest of me moving, somehow my right leg was kept still.

After several agonizing minutes, the doctor pulled back and I heard something small being dropped against the roof: the bullet. "Got it, you can let go." He said and Satoshi withdrew, looking guiltily away from the red handprints on my pale skin. "It's not your fault." The doctor smiled, noticing. "You did a great job of keeping her still. Now I just have to wrap her up and we're done."

They both jumped and stared at me as I gasped. My body jerked and both eyes flew wide, dark gray pools wet with unshed tears. I began to glow again and they watched in shock as I started changing. My mouth opened to scream but no sound came out. The markings slowly faded from my face and the fangs shrank down to human length. My claws became fingernails, just slightly longer than average for humans. The tip of my black hair turned silvery white and spread quickly upwards, dying it all. The tail was gone entirely and my ears were now that of a normal human. Finally, an ice blue appeared in the center of the wide gray eyes and extended until it turned the whole thing the color.

The faint glow that surrounded me faded away and I gasped again before starting to breathe hard. The eyes drifted closed and I lay still. Satoshi and the doctor exchanged glances, his shocked and Satoshi's expressionless.

Gathering courage, the doctor went back to my side and started unrolling a strip of gauze. "In all my years at school, they never warned me of something like this." He joked nervously as he quickly, yet still skillfully, wrapped my leg. The bleeding had slowed some, however you could already see it seeping through the bandage. "Now, we'll help you off this building and drive to the hospital."

My eyes widened and I shook my head frantically, making myself dizzy in the process. I held it tightly in one hand, unable to speak, and staring at Satoshi pleadingly.

"Actually doctor…" He started. "I will be taking her with me."

"What? Why?" The doctor exclaimed.

"She is similar to Dark and might be able to help me catch him."

"No, I cannot allow it. I'll take her even if I have to carry her down myself." The doctor declared as he turned towards me. "Hey…!"

I was scrambling toward where I guessed Akumei to be with my injured leg dragging behind me uselessly. The doctor ran after me just as I went around behind the room where you enter the roof from the stairs. Akumei was lying against it and I breathed a sigh of relief as I noticed he seemed unharmed. I pulled him back first towards me and wrapped my arms under his around his chest so when I rose he came with me.

"Don't try standing!" The doctor shouted. He was less than five feet away from me, coming from behind.

I looked over my shoulder at him and he froze, caught off guard by my icy glare, intensified by the piercing blue eyes. Turning away again, I flapped the wings once and shot off into the air. In my human state, it was even harder to hold Akumei than usual and I staggered around, dipping low and then forcing myself to climb back. I gritted my teeth as I heard shouts from below, breaking my concentration. "Hey, it's the girl!" "She's flying away!" "Should we try to stop her?"

Then I heard the doctoring bellowing over the side of the roof at them. "Get her back! She's injured and needs to go to the hospital!"

_They just want to figure out what I am…_ I thought irritably as I tried to speed up, but failed. I started dropping again and just as I fell, a net whizzed over my head. I gasped silently in shock, still unable to speak. _I'm already hurt… What are they thinking?_ I glanced below myself and saw a forest. Looking back at the police and seeing that they were aiming giant guns at me, which I assumed were what shot the net, I decided to enter. I folded my wings and fell straight downwards as another net shot past.

We burst into the treetops hard and I grabbed out frantically, tearing my weak human nails as I latched onto the bark to keep us from falling further. We were just under the top level of leaves but high enough that the ones below kept us hidden as well. _This will have to do…_ I sighed, breathing heavily. I adjusted myself on the branch that was biting painfully into me by setting my back to the trunk and placing my injured leg outstretched on the branch in front of me. My other dangled down until it found its own foothold. I discovered an extra broad branch beside me and propped Akumei there similar to how I had seated myself except I held his arm in case he fell.

I had almost caught my breath when I heard the police crashing clumsily through the forest. Two stopped below me and I flattened myself to the trunk, watching through a tiny gap in the leaves. "Hey, any sign of her yet?" One of them asked.

"Nope…" The other replied. "But did you see when she took off again? Her hair was a different color! And she was carrying someone with her!"

"Yeah, I think she had him before, we just couldn't see because of the wings. I wonder what happened to make her hair change though…"

"Yeah, pretty weird huh?"

"Hey, you two…!" A third voice cried out. "Continue searching!"

"Right!" They said together and I heard their heavy boots stamping away through the underbrush.

I breathed out in relief and relaxed my tense body. Shifting slightly, I decided there was nothing I could do but wait it out. _They won't find me here anyway. I mean, if they didn't just then, they never will!_ With that in mind, I held Akumei's arm tighter to me and closed my eyes, drifting into sleep.

* * *

At first, I wasn't sure of what was happening but then I realized and bolted upright with a loud yelp. A hand immediately flew to cover my mouth. "Quiet, do you want them to find us?" I sat gaping in shock as I saw Dark sitting on the branch in front of me, dressing my bullet wound with fresh bandages. "So…" He said, nodding resentfully towards Akumei, whose arm I was still clutching. "Who's that?" 

I swallowed and found my voice, still just a whisper. "Akumei…"

"What are you doing back here? And with him…?"

"I was attacked and sent from my world again. He came with me to spare me some of the suffering I would have had to experience."

"Like what?"

"When I'm transported, it uses up my energy. He's offering enough to cover for me too so I can stay alert and awake."

"Ah…" Dark murmured as he reached out a hand and let the silver hair fall through his fingers. "I'm not sure if I like this or the black better… What happened? I saw you change."

"You were watching?" I asked and he nodded.

"Sorry I couldn't come get you. I knew they were taking care of you better than I could have and I _am_ on the run…"

I laughed, wincing as he pulled the bandage tight. "It's ok. Umm… since I'm not a full demon I transform into a human one night every month. Mine is the night of the new moon, when there is no moon in the sky. So yeah, nothing special… I've just lost all my demonic features."

"So the wings are part of your human form?" He asked in amusement.

Much to his surprise, I nodded. "Yeah, I was fighting in a demon tournament. I think I may have told you about it. I'm not sure… Anyway, in the final round, my opponent threw some gas at me. I inhaled some and when I came to again I had wings."

"They're pretty nice…" Dark said with a smirk. They were very similar to his, which is why we had been confused for each other and I was shot by mistake.

"Tha-" I was cut off by Dark suddenly pressing up against me, flattening us each to the tree trunk. His hand found my mouth before I had a chance to cry out. I was about to try shoving him off when I heard footsteps and then voices below us. I froze and listened in instead.

"Hey, any sign yet?"

"No, what about you?"

"Nope, nothing. I can't believe he's still having us search! I mean, he's a doctor, why are we even listening to him?"

"You got that right… It's what, nearing four in the morning? I have a family to get back to! Why is this girl so important anyway?"

"Who knows? All I've heard is that she has wings like the phantom thief. Maybe they are hoping to question her. I don't know…"

"Well either way we're stuck here searching…"

My eyes followed Dark's hand as he snapped off a loose twig silently and tossed it away. Both of the soldier's heads jerked up. "What was that?"

"I don't know, let's go check it out."

Their footsteps faded quickly into the distance as they dashed off to investigate the false alarm and Dark uncovered my mouth. He didn't pull away though, and was still leaning against me. My face was growing steadily redder and he laughed when he noticed. "You haven't changed much have you?"

"O-of course I have!" I stammered as he sat upright again. "Just not in that way…"

"Oh…? Then in what ways have you?"

"Mainly physical…" I sighed, pulling softly on my silver hair. "But mentally I still pretty much see things the same way. For the most part…"

"Don't get so down! You look like someone just died." Dark teased, taking my hand. "Shall we…?"

"Shall we what?" I asked.

He sighed in mock exasperation but the smile shone through anyway. "To Emiko's house. We'll be safe there from any wandering cops."

"Wasn't that… Daisuke's mom?"

"Yep! And as much as I love your fashion statement, I think we could find you some new clothes as well."

I blushed, looking over my clothes. The right sleeve of my shirt was missing and so was the right pants leg of my jeans. They were also all bloodsoaked."K…" I murmured. "Oh, but we can't leave Akumei!"

"Don't worry, I'll get him. You can still fly yourself right?"

I nodded. "Yes, just carrying Akumei made it hard for me."

"Hey wait a second…" Dark paused and turned to stare at me. "Akumei… Wasn't that the name of the guy who sent you here last time?" I nodded mutely. "Then why's he here now? Who's transporting you this time?"

"Well we've discovered it's pointless to be enemies so I've forgiven him. He also saved me once… Umm, and I am not really sure who is sending me now. I know it's a young girl but she got me from behind so I haven't seen her yet."

A stray flashlight beam roved over us and we both went rigid, sure we had been discovered. It passed as quickly as it came, however, and we calmed again. As the light went over me, Dark saw something reflecting the light from around my neck. Now he reached towards it and found that it was a thin silver chain. He tugged, pulling the heart shaped locket from my shirt in the process. "What's this…?" He asked, fidgeting with it.

"You're the great thief, can't you figure out how to open it?" I smiled innocently.

He gave me an odd look and then laughed. "No, actually I can't… But let me try something. I promise not to break it." He added upon seeing my face. He slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a thin, short metal rod. This he took and shoved into the indent in the locket. It sprang open and he smiled in satisfaction before looking. "Who are they?"

"The two with me are my older brothers. The others are my mom and dad."

"Really…" He mused, looking over it.

Then I realized that he wasn't studying the picture, he was looking past it at me. The chain was still hooked around my neck so he had leaned in pretty close. My face flushed red and he laughed again. "Ok fine, I'll leave you alone. But I guess not really…" He added as he hopped nimbly onto Akumei's branch and slung Akumei's arm over his shoulder. "Ready?" I nodded and went into a half crouch against the trunk. "Ok, just jump down."

We slid from the tree and landed soundlessly. He started running and I sprang after him, wobbling slightly on the hurt leg. Twice we froze and hid in the low bushes as an officer passed by and then darted past while their backs were turned. Finally, we broke from the trees and continued, ducking in between two tall buildings. Only then did we pause.

"Wow…" I breathed. "I was sure we would get caught."

"With me here helping you? No way!" He grinned. "And we get to fly soon so the rest of the way will be easy."

I laughed in relief. "Good because it feels really strange sneaking around in my human form. I can't tell if someone's watching or something as well as I should be able to."

"We'll be fine so don't worry about it. Are you ready to move again?" I nodded and followed closely behind him down the alley.

Suddenly, he froze and grabbed my wrist, pulling me down beside a large garbage bin. He practically threw Akumei beside us and pressed me close against the wall. He turned and looked around the edge of the trashcan, pulling back as another flashlight swept the area.

"Hey, I think I saw someone!" Someone shouted and running footsteps sounded out, rapidly drawing nearer.

"Damn…" Dark muttered, taking my hand and hoisting Akumei onto his shoulder. "We have to get out of here!" He turned and froze, seeing the officers had circled around to come at us from both sides. "Well, only way left is up!" Dark cried as he thrust downwards with his wings and shot from the ground.

With a startled yelp, I was pulled with him, flapping my own wings only after I realized what had happened. Dark grinned at me and then looked ahead, still holding my hand as if I was a small child he was afraid of losing. I frowned and looked away, crying out in surprise. "Watch out!" Before anyone could react, I had pulled my sword awkwardly from the sheath with my left hand and sliced the flying net in half.

"Wow…" Dark laughed after the initial shock. "I'm glad I've got you to watch my back. But since when do they have nets to shoot at me…?"

"I'm right handed…" I murmured and after a moment Dark realized what I meant, and released my hand. I took the sword in it just in time to knock away another net.

"You know this would be much easier if it was just us." Dark muttered.

"Well you can't be thinking of leaving him behind!" I shouted, referring to Akumei.

"No, we could just set him down somewhere and come back later."

"If that's what you think, then I'll just take him and I'll draw them away so you can escape."

Dark just laughed. "Fine, we won't leave him, but we will have to speed up. Put away your sword so you don't drop it. I think we'll be out of their range soon too."

I nodded and sheathed the blade as Dark took my wrist again and pulled me higher. We began to speed up but quickly slowed again. "Can you not go any faster?" I asked, puzzled. "Oh, it's because of Akumei isn't it?" Then I noticed how hard he was breathing. "Hey, are you ok?"

He just laughed at my concern. "Don't worry about me… I'm fine."

"No you're not!" I glanced around below us. "There are still soldiers everywhere so we can't land…"

"I said don't worry about it. We'll be there soon anyway."

I bowed my head with a sigh, realizing it was useless to argue further. "Ah-!" I started. "That's a real gun he's aiming!" Sure enough, as soon as I spoke the gunshot sounded. "Watch out!" I cried, throwing myself in front of Dark.

"Don't…!" He screamed at me but his voice faltered at the end. "What the…?"

"What…?" I opened my eyes, blinking in confusion. "Why wasn't I…? Oh!" In front of me was a solid, yet transparent green wall of energy. Dug slightly into the other side was the bullet that had been fired. If it hadn't been stopped, I would have struck in the stomach. "My energy came back on its own!" This was the first time it had been used besides just to heal myself since the incident in the forest with Hitaru.

"You mean you were expecting to really get hit?" Dark cried in shock. "Why would you do that?" As he yelled at me, he took my hand and starting pulling me again as I had frozen in midair with my surprise. "Why would you do that?" He repeated.

"If I wasn't here, you wouldn't be running like this in the first place. It would be much easier for you to get away!"

He turned and looked me in the eyes. "Promise you won't do anything like that again."

"But-" I stopped and looked away. "All right…"

"Good." He turned as well and I became aware that we were moving much faster than before. The officers were falling swiftly behind us. "Hmm…" He mused. "I wonder why Hiwatari wasn't chasing us…"

"You mean Satoshi?" I asked. "He helped me get away in the first place."

"What? How so?"

"Well, you said you were watching right? He spoke to the doctor and distracted him while I got Akumei and flew to the woods."

Dark shrugged. "Well, whatever… We're here anyway." He said, indicating the house below us. "Stay close to me. There are probably traps set up around."

"Traps…?" Despite my embarrassment, I found myself practically clinging to his arm. We made it through with minor difficulty and entered through a window into Daisuke's room. I folded in my wings to keep from breaking anything.

Dark leaned Akumei against a wall and I stood awkwardly beside the window, staring around. Dark smiled and took my arms, leading me over to the bed where he made me sit. "You've already bled through the bandages…" He murmured, checking my leg. "Hold on a minute." He exited the room and I was left alone in the strange room of someone's house whose owners may not even know I was there.

I jumped as someone burst through the door. "Kira, you're back!" Emiko, Daisuke's mom, shouted. She didn't seem at all surprised that I had wings and silver hair. I went rigid as she hugged me but she just laughed it off and turned to look at my wound. She frowned as she unwrapped it. "Those officers… Shooting at young girls…!"

"I'm fine…" I began as she started bandaging it again.

"No you're not!" She argued, proving her point by pulling them tight and causing me to wince. She stood, job done, and grinned broadly at me. "Now, I get to pick out some clothes for you to wear! And no baggy boys clothes this time either."

"But…!" My voice trailed off as I noticed she was already gone from the room.

Five minutes later, she was back again, arms full. She began rapidly shifting through the pile of clothes, holding something up in front of me and then tossing it away. Finally, she stopped and grinned at me again. "I've found it. Come on…!" She began to pull me after her but stopped as she saw me wobbling on my leg. "Oh right, just a second…" She disappeared and came back this time with crutches. I looked at them ruefully but accepted anyway, slipping one under each arm and hopping awkwardly after her.

We entered another room and she closed and locked the door before turning to me. "Alright, let's try them on!" She handed me an ice blue top, sleeveless and low cut that matched my eyes, and had me get it on. It looped around my neck andwas backless, tied instead in back near the waist, which was perfect for the wings. I wouldn't have to cut holes in it this way. Next came a black skirt, two layers with a shorter one over a longer of the same material. They were both scrunched together in strange ruffles. Once I had slipped it on as well, I found that it barely came to my knees. Emiko, however, loved it. "It's perfect!" She cried. "They look so good on you!"

"But…" I stammered. "I can't fly in this!"

"We'll worry about that later." She beamed, as she took my hand and led me back to Daisuke's room. "Isn't she pretty?"

Dark nodded mutely, eyes wide as he took me in. I was staring at the floor, hands clasped behind my back in a pitiful attempt to make sure the skirt was covering everything. Skirts made me paranoid. I was somehow managing to hold the crutches as well.

"Picture time!" Emiko nearly shouted as she snatched my bag up from where it had been set on the floor and pulled the camera out. In the same movement, she shoved me into Dark who more than happily set his arm around my shoulders. I dropped the crutches in surprise and they clattered to the ground. Dark's hold tightened to support me better. He grinned at the camera, giving a victory sign, as I held my hands in front of me with a crimson face. I forced a weak smile and the camera flashed, taking the picture.

"All right, good night you two!" Emiko smiled as she set down the camera and left the room.

"What…?" I asked in a momentary shock.

Dark just shook his head in amusement as he released me. "So, do you want to sleep on the bed?" I gave him an odd look as I picked up one crutch and he smiled harmlessly. "Don't worry, I won't try anything. That is… unless you want me too." He added with a smirk.

I blushed darker and shook my head. "I-I'll just sleep here…" I murmured as I lowered myself awkwardly against the wall near the base of the bed beside Akumei.

Dark laughed. "I don't think so. Since you're traveling worlds again, when was the last time that you slept in a real bed?"

"Umm…" I paused to think. "It was… on a pirate ship I guess." I laughed softly, scratching the back of my head. "Ah!" I jumped as Dark bent and lifted me easily in his arms.

"That doesn't count." He smiled as he set me on the bed. "I'm sure Daisuke won't mind either. Oh, and when we ran into each other you dropped this." He smiled as he placed Kaidoh's bandana in my hand and then closed the fingers around it. "When you wake up it will probably be Daisuke and not me. So, goodnight Kira…" My eyes went wide as his lips found mine. They stayed for a long time before he finally pulled away, laughing at my crimson face. "Yes, you definitely haven't changed."

I justnodded, wordless, as he sat against a wall opposite the bed and set his head in his arms on the pulled in knees. He closed his eyes and looked to be instantly asleep. I sighed and lay back as well, pulling the sheets over me. It was true. I hadn't been in a real bed for a long time and now it felt really good. I snuggled into them and placed my hand beside my head on the pillow. In it, I still held the bandana. _I wonder how everyone's doing…_ I thought, not just of the boys but of everyone I had met. I sighed again and closed my eyes.

* * *

Several hours had passed when I started whimpering. Dark jumped awake and crawled silently over to the bed in time to see a tear fall from my cheek to the pillow. He restrained the urge to wake me as he made out words within my whimpers. "Home… Sesshoumaru… Inuyasha… Don't kill… each other…" I stopped and gagged once, causing Dark to jump again, and then resumed. "Careful of… Stop it… stop it… careful…" Another tear fell. "It hurts… it hurts so much… Ah!" My eyes flew open and Dark scrambled back with a startled cry as I began to glow. 

The whimpering increased as my hair flowed black from the top down and the ears emerged again. My nails and fangs lengthened and sharpened and the markings appeared faintly on my cheek and forehead before darkening. There was a small sound of ripping fabric as the tail forced its way through the skirt. Last, my wide eyes turned their emerald green and the glowing diminished.

Dark waved a hand in my face but I didn't move. After a second, the eyes drifted slowly closed again and I lay still. Dark remained frozen for a moment and then decided to wake me. As his hand neared my shoulder, the black wings suddenly unfolded themselves from my back and twisted around, drooping over my face and draping over me. Dark pulled back sharply, shook his head with a smile, and returned to sitting against the wall.

* * *

I awoke the next morning yawning as I reluctantly pulled myself into a half sitting position. "Good morning!" Daisuke's cheerful voice rang out. 

"Morning…" I murmured, rubbing my eyes. _I guess Dark wasn't kidding when he said he'd be gone in the morning…_ "Sorry I slept later than I meant to…"

"Don't worry about it." He smiled. "You transformed back in your sleep."

I laughed, looking at my clawed fingers. "I have, haven't I?"

"Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm fine." I climbed fully out of the bed now and crouched at its end beside Akumei. "What about you?" I asked, prodding him gently in the side. I sighed as I got no reply and gathered up one of the crutches. I held it under my right arm and stood to face Daisuke again. "He's still… resting…" I said lamely.

He nodded. "I guess you'd want to stay with him so we couldn't walk around the city like last time?" He asked with a short laugh.

"I'd hate to be on the other side of town when it's time to be transported again. I need some better clothes though…"

"Well, my mom went out. She said she had something to do."

"Oh…" I sighed as I sat perched on the edge of the bed.

"Are you ok?"

I laughed at his concern. "Yes, just a small headache is all…" I didn't mention that my leg was throbbing. "Oh!" I jumped as I heard the girl's voice again.

_Kira?_

_Yeah, I'm here._

_Sorry it took me so long this time…_

_It's all right, don't worry about it._

_Ok, I'm sending you now._

_K._ I smiled, looking up at Daisuke who was watching me curiously. "Time for me to go again! Thanks for everything."

"No problem…" He watched as I crossed over, gathered up my sword and camera, stuffed the bandana into the camera's bag so I would not lose it, and then placed Akumei's arm around my left shoulder with the crutch under the right.

"All right, I'm off! Maybe I'll come visit again someday. You never know with me." I laughed. "Bye…"

"Bye…" Daisuke murmured as I disappeared from the room.

* * *

Hiei jumped awake at the girl's words. "I've sent her again…" He nodded, scolding himself for falling asleep, and looked around. _That fool still isn't back yet?_ He thought angrily. _What could he be doing…?_ He contented himself with crossing his arms grumpily over his chest. 


	41. Demon Diary

* * *

"Oh crap…" I muttered and had many reasons for doing so. First thing I realized was that I was still wearing the skirt. Falling downwards meant it went up and when I attempted to hold it down with one hand and keep Akumei steady with the other, he quickly started slipping. The crutch was hard to hold onto as well. Another thing was that when I scanned the sky all I saw were stars. Sure enough, within seconds, I was undergoing the transformation yet again into a human. "Crap!" I shouted it this time as I unfolded the wings, which had come in during transforming, and flapped them hard, drastically slowing our descent. "Sometimes it really sucks to be a half demon!" I saw lights out of the corner of my eye and glanced down, seeing a large castle below. "Might as well…" I murmured as I changed course so I'd land in its courtyard area. 

No sooner had I touched down when something came flying at me. I screamed and threw up my arms. Instantly the green barrier sprang up to protect me and I had time to set Akumei down behind me and draw my sword. "Who did that?" I shouted, trying to see through the dust caused by the mini explosion.

"Who are you to invite yourself into a demon lord's castle?" Someone demanded.

"What…?" I blinked, seeing a dark figure as the dust settled. It was a man with long dark hair that went well past his waist, pulled into a ponytail. He was glaring me down and smelled of demon. "I needed to land and saw that there may be people here that I could stay with until I leave again!"

"You do not barge into a demon lord's castle and expect them to welcome you!" The man cried angrily.

"So it's normal for you to randomly attack?" I winced, kneeling down on one knee because of the pain in my thigh. _This isn't good… If he attacks again I won't be able to move quickly!_

"It wasn't random!" He snapped back. "And wings…? How dare you set foot here, angel!"

I blinked again in confusion. "What…? You're not making any sense!" I cried. "I'm not an angel. I'm a demon as well! I just happen to have wings!"

"You expect us to believe these lies?" He yelled. "And you are most definitely a human."

"That's because I'm not a full demon so I change into a human one night each month!"

"That's unheard of! What lies are you spreading?"

"Shut up! I'm not lying!"

"You carry a sword. You obviously have come to slay the demon lord here."

"Yeah, of course. That's why I brought this wounded man with me." I replied sarcastically.

I jumped as I noticed a boy standing beside me. He seemed about my age but maybe a little younger with short spiked hair. He was walking around me, pulling on the wings. "These are real, huh?"

I nodded mutely as an older girl with shoulder length hair appeared out of nowhere as well. "That's a really nice sword… Mine broke on his head." I followed her pointing finger to a boy with blonde hair who was behind the man, peering around him. I now realized that the man was attempting to protect him from anything I might throw at them.

"Oh…! Is he the demon lord you guys think I'm out to get?" I asked, referring to the blonde boy. He seemed about the same age as the other boy, fifteen. All four froze and stared at me. "What…?" I asked nervously.

"You guessed right! I think you're the first person to ever identify Raenef as the demon lord instead of Eclipse!" The boy said in awe.

I laughed. "Really? I can't imagine why…"

I flinched back, still laughing softly as the man, Eclipse, screamed at the pair. "What are you two doing near her? If you don't move, I'll kill you both!" His face fell into shock as he saw Raenef was now standing in front of me.

"You're not a full demon?" He asked in wonder.

I nodded, trying not to laugh at Eclipse's face as I put away the sword. "Yeah, my dad was a full demon and my mom was only half." I turned to stare at the other boy who was still pulling on my wings. "Are you done?"

"Oh, sorry… I'm Chris." He added.

"And I'm Erutis." The girl muttered, eyeing me strangely.

"I'm Kira…" I murmured, watching her back. "What's… wrong…?"

"Ignore her." Chris said. "She's feels threatened when there are prettier girls around. Ow!" He shouted as she hit him over the head.

"If you're referring to the way I'm dressed, I didn't mean to. I was given these clothes to replace the torn up ones and no others. It's kind of awkward to fly in…" I explained, scratching the back of my head.

"I think it's pretty!" Raenef cried.

I smiled. "Heh, thank you." He had this childlike innocence that made me want to hug him, but I restrained, feeling Eclipse's gaze on me. "Look!" I cried out, facing him. "I put away my sword. Now I'm just a defenseless human. I'm not going to try anything!"

"How did you stop my dark arrow a second ago?" Raenef asked.

"Dark arrow…? Oh! That blast that came at me when I landed? I used my…" I trailed off as I saw Eclipse watching me.

"Used your what? I thought you were a defenseless human now!"

"Quiet, it came out on its own to protect me."

"What did?" Chris asked.

"My spirit energy."

"What's that?" Raenef asked.

"This…" I held out my hand and made what appeared like a green flame in my hand. It flickered around just like a real fire. "Spirit energy!"

"How are you…?" I turned curiously towards Eclipse as he spoke. "No incantation or anything? You use your magic so easily yet you're still so young!"

"I'm not that young actually." I shrugged. "I'm over five hundred years, maybe even six hundred by now! But I like to tell people I'm sixteen since that's how long ago I was last…" I smiled, sticking my tongue out at the shocked faces around me. "I'll just stop now. My past is too confusing… And it's not magic, it's spirit energy. Two completely different things."

"Wow!" Chris cried. "Teach me how to use it!"

"I'm not exactly sure how… and it's not normal for humans to be able to access it."

"Aww…" He pouted grumpily.

I laughed again. "Don't worry about it. You have to take a long time to learn to control it properly and because of certain events, mine was gathered and stored for me. Then it had to be drawn back into my body… Man that hurt like hell!" I shivered at the memory but my smile quickly returned and I turned to Raenef. "Since you're in charge I suppose I'd better ask you. Would it be alright if I stayed here for just a couple days at the most?"

"Of course!" He replied without a moment's hesitation.

"Master Raenef!" Eclipse cried. "She's a human! We already have enough running around already!"

"Chill out!" I sighed. "What harm will one more do then? Besides, by morning I'll be a demon again, I promise."

"Chill… out…?" Eclipse echoed as he watched Raenef and the others leading me away on a tour of the castle. Then he glanced over and saw Akumei lying propped against a wall. _He's a demon too… _He sighed and quickly hurried after us.

After getting lost a couple of times and having Eclipse point us back in the right direction, we returned to the courtyard. I checked on Akumei and then went back to the others. "It's late Master Raenef." Eclipse murmured as he saw the boy yawning.

He nodded and wandered inside the castle, wobbling slightly. Eclipse started after him but stopped to stare at me. "And where do you expect to sleep?"

"I'll stay out here." I smiled. "I don't want to be a burden."

He regarded me for a moment and then nodded, hurrying off to follow the young demon lord. "Are you sure?" Chris asked. "There are tons of empty rooms inside."

"No, it's fine." I laughed. "No worries."

"If you say so…" Erutis shrugged and she and Chris went inside as well.

I sat down beside Akumei, leaning against the stone wall. _I was just spoiled and allowed to sleep in a real bed. Now it's time to return to outside again…_ I folded my legs beside me, wary of the skirt I was wearing and soon my chin slipped down to my chest. I fell asleep and gradually began sliding down the wall until I was lying on my side in the grass. I grabbed hold of it and shivered as the dew settled on my hair and skin. The wings unsettled from my back and draped tightly over me again but it didn't help.

I was unaware as the footsteps approached, pausing as I began to glow. The sliver hair flowed black again and the ears and tail reclaimed their spots. Markings faded into view and claws and fangs grew and sharpened. "A demon huh…" The figure shook his head and leaned over, spreading a blanket over me. Immediately I pulled it close and snuggled deep. He watched for a moment and then retreated into the castle.

* * *

I yawned and sat up, the blanket falling around my waist as I began rubbing my eyes. _Who…? _I sniffed the soft fabric and smiled, soon catching the scent of food as well. I held a hand up to shield my face from the morning sunlight and looked over. There was a stone dome supported by pillars with tables under it. Seated around one sat Raenef, Chris and Erutis with Eclipse standing to the side. Gathering up the blanket in my arms, I stood but fell back down almost immediately. "Crap…" I muttered as I bowed my head over my leg, clutching it tightly. Then, taking a deep breath, I grabbed up the almost forgotten crutch and used it to make my way towards the group. "Hello!" I called cheerfully and they all stopped and stared though I noted that Eclipse didn't seem as surprised as the others did by my change. 

"What happened to you?" Chris gasped.

"I told you I'm a demon. This is my normal appearance."

"What kind of demon are you?" Raenef asked, standing in front of me.

I closed one green and gray eye as he began messing with my ears. "Mostly wolf, a little dog, and the final bit human." I smiled at Eclipse and handed him the blanket. "Thank you."

He took it and looked away. "What are you thanking me for?"

I just laughed and then looked past the group. "Hmm… Who are you?"

"Krayon! What are you doing here?" Erutis screamed. "And why are you eating my food again?" She snatched it away from him.

It was a man but with long wavy hair flowing down to his lower back. He had two stars under his left eye and I blushed, realizing how pretty he was. "You are a very strange girl. I saw you change last night. A human then and a demon now, a strange demon at that…"

"Err…" I didn't know quite what to say. "Ah-!" I flinched back as he stepped in front of me and grabbed my chin, turning it to see both sides of my face.

"True it is strange… But it's somewhat pretty as well." He murmured to himself as he pulled on an ear.

"Will you stop?" I muttered, growing annoyed. "And… are you calling me _it_?"

He gave an amused smile and released me, then snatching up my hand as I brought it to my own face. "Look at your claws…" He poked my side suddenly and I laughed aloud out of instinct, allowing him to see my teeth. "And such long fangs…!"

"Stop it!" I cried as I pulled my hand away and held it to my chest.

"Are those markings real?" He asked, totally ignoring me, as he pointed a finger to my cheek and forehead.

"Yes…" I replied reluctantly, crossing my arms over my stomach.

"You have wings too!" He circled me excitedly calling out any strange features he noted. "A locket? What's inside it? Is that a tail? It's so fluffy!"

"Ack!" I jumped as he pulled it. "Leave it alone. That hurts!"

Erutis had edged behind me and now shoved me in the back. "Yes Krayon, you can take her and leave me alone! She's much more interesting anyway!"

"What, no!" I stammered as I dropped my crutch and fell into Krayon who caught me. "Go away!" I pushed away from him and fell over, unable to stand on two legs, into the grass.

"You shouldn't act that way towards a demon lord, Kira." Eclipse advised. "I apologize for her actions Master Krayon. She isn't from around here. Say you're sorry." He ordered, turning on me.

"He's a demon lord…?" I blinked but quickly recovered. "No! He's the one who should apologize for messing with me!"

Eclipse looked at me in shock and I just glared as Krayon laughed and offered his hand. "Are you injured?"

I sighed and took his hand reluctantly. "Yes…"

He practically shoved me into a chair. "Will you let me see?"

"I can heal it myself…" I muttered as I rolled the skirt to my upper thigh, careful not to reveal anything. With a sigh, I saw that the blood was seeping through the bandages once again.

"What happened?" Raenef asked.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." I assured him as I placed my hands on the wound. I winced even at the light pressure but ignored it and found some energy. I had waited so I wouldn't run dry from using it all with Dark and when Raenef shot at me. By now I assumed I had gathered some back. My hands glowed for a moment and then I pulled them away, tearing the bandages with them. The skin was completely healed again.

"Wow!" Chris cried. "You're sure you can't teach me to use that energy?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." I smiled as I rose, testing my leg's strength. It seemed back to normal at least. "So what now?" I asked as I bent to pick up the crutch.

I watched with an amused smile as Krayon stood in front of Erutis. "Don't worry my love; she could never take your place in my heart."

"Get away from me!" She screamed at him, turning her back to his hurt face.

I began to laugh but froze, dropping to my knees and holding my head tightly. "Quiet!" I shouted and everyone hushed and stared at me.

_Kira, are you ok?_

_Yeah, why do you ask?_

_After I sent you last time, I realized that you were hurt._

_Well yeah, I was, but now I'm healed again._

_Ok…Are you ready then?_

_Of course._

_All right._

I looked up at everyone and climbed back to my feet. "I'm leaving now. Thank you for allowing me to stay the night. Maybe I'll see you guys again sometime!" I teased as I headed back towards Akumei. I stopped, seeing the camera bag. "Oh right!" I cried, pulling it out. "I need a picture of you all so I won't forget you!"

"Picture…?" Eclipse asked, eying the camera warily.

I nodded. "Don't worry about it. Just group together please before I have to leave!" After a little more pleading, I got them all in a group, Raenef, Eclipse, Chris, Erutis, and even Krayon and then I jumped in the middle as the camera flashed. "Thank you!" I smiled as I put it away again and draped the bag securely over my shoulder. I strapped the sword around my waist, took up the crutch in one hand, and managed to get Akumei's arm over my shoulder with the other. Right after I started glowing, laughing as everyone stepped back. "Well thanks again. I have to try and get back to my home world."

"I knew you were strange! You're not even from this world?" Krayon asked.

I smiled and shook my head. "Nope, I was sent from mine by a surprise attack. Well, thanks again! Bye!"

They remained staring for a while after I had left. Finally, Eclipse broke the silence. "Master Raenef, it's time for more lessons."

"Alright…" He said reluctantly and they left the group. The last three exchanged glances and went their separate ways as well, with Erutis screaming at Krayon to stop following her.

* * *

"Is she back yet?" Kyoshi asked, seemingly appearing out of nowhere as he dropped down from the sky to land in front of the young cat demon. 

"No…" She shook her head almost regretfully, eyes wide with surprise at his sudden appearance.

"Oh well, I know you can do it." He smiled and she nodded gratefully.

"Hey, where have you been?" Hiei shouted.

"Collecting…" Kyoshi shrugged, holding out a hand full of various plants. "This should be enough to finish it."

"Finish what?" Hiei asked warily.

"You'll just have to wait and see." Kyoshi smirked as he sat back down with his back to Hiei so he could mix things in peace.


	42. Psychic Academy

* * *

Immediately I looked around and let out a groan. It was nighttime and yet again the night of the new moon. I closed my eyes and accepted the transformation back into my human self as I kept the wings steadily beating. _I wonder if I kept repeating nights last time too…_ I thought. _I didn't have a sign to look for last time so I really don't know…_ "Ah-!" My thoughts were broken as I felt the crutch slip from my fingers. _That's what I get for trying to hold down the skirt at the same time._ I winced as I heard someone cry out from below. "Oh crap, there was someone there? What time is it?" I spiraled quickly downwards and set Akumei down before turning around to see a boy lying on the ground. The crutch was beside him on the pavement. 

"Are you alright? I'm so sorry!" I cried, kneeling beside him. There was a broken ponytail holder still halfway in his hair. When I propped him up slightly it fell and the back length blonde hair spilled over everything. I brushed it out of his face and gasped at the trickle of blood running down. _I dropped it from so high up!_ "Are you ok?" I asked again as he began to stir.

He groaned slightly and winced, bringing a hand to his head. "What…?" He moaned, as he looked up, realizing I was there.

"I'm so sorry! I dropped it by accident. Let me…"

"Where did you drop it from?" He cut me off, sliding away and taking another glance at me. "I think I've gone crazy… It looks like you have wings."

"Well that's because… I do…" I laughed nervously, rubbing the back of my head.

He stared at me for a moment longer. "Some… strange aura power?"

"Aura power…?" I echoed confusedly. "I don't know… but please let me heal you." He just stared at me warily as I inched towards him. "Please, it's my fault entirely and we both know it. Let me heal it!" Before he could react, I lunged forward and set my glowing hand on his forehead.

"What are you-" His eyes widened as he felt the sudden warmth and soon the pain stopped as well. "Huh…?"

"There, all better." I smiled, pulling back again. "I'm sorry it happened in the first place." I stood and was about halfway up when the boy caught my wrist. I paused and stared at him, peering through the silver hair that had fallen in my face. "What…?"

He stared back through his own blonde and murmured two words. "Fight me."

"What?" I asked again.

"That energy… What you used to heal me with… It was different from aura power, wasn't it?"

"I'm not sure what aura power is… but I call that spirit energy."

"Spirit energy…" His eyes traveled down to my waist. "And why do you carry a sword? Can you only heal with it?"

"Actually, I can do about anything I want with it. The sword is from my father so I cannot just discard it. I can't always rely on my energy either so it's helpful. Ah-!" I jumped backwards as he punched at me. Even as a human, because of the training, my reflexes were still good. "What do you think you're doing?" I screamed.

"Fight me." He repeated, climbing to his feet as well. "My aura power vs. your spirit energy. I want to know more about it."

"I don't have a choice do I…?" I muttered as I leapt back from another strike.

"Alright, here we go…!" He cried, raising his hands above his head. "Gaina… go!"

"What the…!" I gasped as I stumbled backwards. It looked like tons of fireballs were flying from him! I threw my arms in front of my face and a green shield sprang up in front of me. I pushed it and it flew forward towards the boy, knocking back the fire and eventually crashing into him. He remained on the ground, seemingly stunned as I approached and bowed over him.

"How…?"

"Don't underestimate me." I glared. He flinched as I lowered a hand towards him and braced for impact. "What are you doing?" I asked.

He looked up at the sudden change in my voice from deadly to cheerful and stared for a moment before realizing that I was offering him my hand. He took it hesitantly and I pulled him to his feet. "What did you do?" He asked quietly.

I shrugged and made the shield appear in front of me once more. "Then I just pushed it into you." I smiled harmlessly as it disappeared again. "Oh, my name's Kira. What's yours?"

"Ren." He replied shortly, staring as I stepped beside him.

"Say cheese!" I grinned.

"Cheese…?" He echoed, jumping as I snapped our picture. "What was that for?" He yelled.

I laughed at his reaction. "I'm keeping track of all I meet. Is that ok?"

"W-whatever…" He turned away but not before I saw the light red in his cheeks. "What are you smiling at?" He frowned at me, crossing his arms.

"Nothing…" I replied cheerfully as I put the camera away. "What are you doing out here so late? Err… it is late right?"

"Yes…" He replied, shooting me a strange look. "I'm on suspension so I have to sneak out at night." He looked up sharply at my laugh. "What?"

"Was it for fighting?" He nodded and I just smiled. After all, he had so willingly started that fight with me upon meeting. "Hmm… You've so easily accepted that I have wings!" I cried suddenly as if the thought had just dawned on me.

"You mean they really are real?" I nodded and allowed him to pull on them lightly. Finally, he backed away, showing no emotion. "Well I have to go. See ya."

"Bye!" I called after him, as he disappeared around a building corner. "Gah, I hate being alone…" I sighed. "Well I guess you're here, aren't you?" I asked as I sat down next to Akumei. He snored in reply and I gave an exasperated sigh as I drew my legs to my chest. I held them there with my arms and placed my chin on them, closing my eyes.

Soon I was out cold, transforming back into a demon during my sleep without even realizing it. One of the large ears twitched and I looked up, blinking in the morning light.

"Hey, you handled Ren pretty well Kira."

I jumped awake at the voice and looked up, seeing a young man staring down at me. He had purple hair that hung slightly in his face. "W-what?"

He laughed at my alarm. "Don't worry, I won't do anything. But I was watching last night. You handled Ren very well."

"Thank you..." I replied uncertainly.

He smiled and plopped down beside me and I tensed, unsure of what he was doing. "So, what exactly are you?"

"Wolf demon."

"Wolf demon, huh? Haven't seen one of those before. Do all have power of... spirit energy I think is what you called it?"

I shook my head. "No, at leastnot where I'm from."

"And where is that?"

"Ancient Japan." I replied with a shrug.

He gave me an odd look and then laughed, placing a hand on his forehead. "Well, since everything else about you is strange, I guess that'd have to be too. Anyway, I have to go. Stay out of trouble." He warned as he got to his feet.

"I will..." I said with a small laugh. _And he's calling me strange?_ I thought as I waved after him. He waved back and disappeared around a building. I was in another city, afterall.

I sighed and stretched, fully waking as I heard the voice in my head again. _Hey…_ I yawned.

_Oh, were you sleeping?_

_Yes, but its fine._

_All right, ready to go then?_

_Of course!_

_Ok…_

I sat up fully and adjusted the camera and sword around my waist before grabbing Akumei's arm and placing it around my shoulder again. I smiled as I began to glow and looked around, unused to not having people staring amazed at me as it happened. I laughed atthe thought and disappeared without a further word. The only signs I had ever been there were the charred marks on the ground from the fight, and a discarded crutch left leaning against the wall.

* * *

"I've sent her…" The young girl murmured, eyes closing as she began to fall over. Kyoshi sprang up with the help of his wings, and landed at her side. 

"What's wrong?" He asked, supporting her with his arms.

She blinked a few times. "I've never transported someone so many times in a row… I'm really tired…" That said, her head bobbed to her chest and she was out cold.

Kyoshi leaned her down gently into the grass and glanced over at Hiei. "I guess there's gonna be a slight delay…" Hiei just grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. Shrugging, Kyoshi returned to his mysterious work.


	43. S:CRY:ED

* * *

**Author's Note**: It's supposed to be S-CRY-ED but it won't let me put in the -'s in the chapter title... Oh well!  
Oh, and if you have suggested an anime for me to visit but I have not used it, it's probably because I've never heard of it before or don't know about it well enough to write a passage for it. So... That's it. On with the story!

* * *

I clung tighter to Akumei so I wouldn't lose him on the way down but then realized we weren't moving. "What…?" I stared down and saw that I was sitting on the ground, a barren wasteland of dusty dirt. "Yay!" I cried and in the next instant, "huh…? Ahhh!" I was blown backwards from some sudden explosion and shielded my and Akumei's eyes from the dust cloud that had been forced up. Peering through my fingers, I glared around, trying to find what had caused it. I didn't have to wait long. 

Three figures were facing off against each other and it looked like a two on one. The two were a boy with green hair and a very serious expression with a purple and white thing resembling a human in front of him. It almost looked metallic though. _A robot maybe…?_ Across from them was a boy with brown hair who was panting heavily. His right arm seemed to be oversized and metal as well but he looked pretty beat up, unlike the other. "What…?" I murmured again. _What have I gotten myself into this time…? _I stood and pulled Akumei with me as I began inching back before breaking into a full out sprint.

I skidded to a halt as I found myself at the base of a large cliff and stared up it. "Man…" I glanced over my shoulder at the fighting pair who was now very far away. "But I don't want to chance getting involved…" I sighed as the wings spread out and we lifted upwards to the sky. The dark sky. "Crap…" I muttered but at least I was ready this time. As I began to shift back into a human I managed to keep the wings beating consistently and climbed steadily higher towards the top of the cliff.

"Ah-!" I started in surprise. I had reached the top and gone forward to land when I looked up to see a man and a woman staring back at me.

The girl remained transfixed and staring but the man walked right up to me as I hovered there. "An alter power…?" He asked, looking directly at the wings.

"Alter… power…?" I echoed in confusion.

"Don't play dumb just to escape."

"Wha-" I was cut off as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto the cliff. In the same moment, he smashed his fist into the side of my head. I gasped out, weaker in the human body, and fell face first into the dirt.

"Why did you do that?" I heard the girl shout and then felt someone turning me over and wiping my face. "She hadn't done anything!"

"She's a native alter, probably friends with that guy." I forced my eyes open and followed his finger towards the ones who had been fighting. I suddenly realized that the green haired boy had won. He now seemed to be arresting the other.

I gritted my teeth against the already pounding head and managed to sit up. I glared at the man through ice blue eyes and forced myself to speak calmly, though I could not hide the menacing tone. "I have not done anything, nor have I tried to do anything. I do not understand what you mean by an alter power so I am sure I do not have one. Please allow me to leave before I end up hurting someone or getting hurt further." The man had backed up a few paces, eyeing me nervously, as I crawled to Akumei's side. "You alright…?" I murmured, picking him from the dirt and leaning him against me. "You keep getting drop-" This time when I hit the ground, I was not able to get back up.

"S-she's bleeding…!" The girl cried. "Striaght, you hit her from behind!"

"She was threatening us Miss Mimori." He replied. "And it's my job as a member of holy to bring in native alters."

"No, she was asking to be left alone and she truly looked like she didn't understand about alters… and it's Mimori!" She shouted. (He pronounced the name wrong.)

"Yeah… right…" He laughed nervously as he scooped me from the ground and set me in the back of the car parked nearby. "Are you coming?" He glanced over his shoulder at her.

Mimori was kneeling beside Akumei. "If you take him…"

With a sigh, Striaght picked up Akumei and placed him next to me in the car. "Ready now…?" He climbed into the driver's seat, waited for Mimori to get into the passengers, placed his pink visor over his eyes, and hit the gas. We shot off, speeding across the bumpy dirt ground and dodging around cars on the actual road, without slowing down.

We finally skidded to a stop in front of a massive building in the middle of a city surrounded by a high wall. Mimori stumbled out holding her stomach as Striaght began to unload Akumei and me.

The doors opened and a short haired girl walked out, smiling curiously. "Hey Striaght, what do you have there?"

"A native alter. Or at least, that's what I thought."

"What do you mean…?" She asked, coming closer.

"See for yourself." He replied as he turned around, holding me in his arms. "Look, she's unconscious yet still has wings and they don't look like anything created by an alter power either."

"Hmm…" The girl murmured, reaching out and touching one. "They sure do feel like real feathers… Let's take her anyway so we can figure out more about her."

"What about him?" Mimori said suddenly.

"Oh right, sorry. Here Shireece, you take her and I'll take him." Striaght handed me over to the girl, Shireece, and went back to the car to pull out Akumei. "Thanks!" He cried as he followed Mimori past her and into the building.

Shireece watched them go, looking curiously at me as she supported me beside her. "Oh well…" She sighed as she half carried, half dragged me inside as well.

* * *

"Ugh…" I woke up moaning and then sat up with a jolt, bringing a sudden sharp pain to my head. I waited a moment until it subsided back to the dull ache of before and then looked around slowly, wiping the blood away that had dribbled from the corner of my mouth. I was in the middle of a small cell, metal and closed in entirely. "Well this… sucks." I blinked a few times and shook my head lightly. "Alright, I know I've been in here overnight since I'm a demon again." I started, examining my clawed hands. "And they must have gotten shocked by my sword since it's still here and no sane person would lock someone up and allow them to keep their weapon. My camera is here too, luckily… I guess I can just wait in here until it's time to leave again." I crawled over to a corner of the room and sat with my legs drawn up to my chest and chin resting on them. "Ah-!" A thought had dawned on me and I sprang to my feet. "Akumei, what have they done to him?" I screamed, bounding towards the door. I pressed the side of my head to it and listened hard. _Yes, there is a guard out there..._ "Hey!" I shouted. "I know you're out there! Where have you taken Akumei! Give him back right now! If you have hurt him, I swear I will kill you all! Let me out! I know you can hear me! Open this door before I break it down!" 

I stumbled back as someone beat on the door from the other side. "Hey you, quiet down in there!"

I smirked as I held my hands together in front of me. Slowly I drew them apart, forming a green energy ball between them. "I said…" I faced my hands towards the door. "…let me out!" I thrust them forward andthe energy beamcollided with the door. There was almost a tearing sound as the door was ripped from its frame and clattered noisily to the ground on the other side. I wasted no time before leaping through.

"What the-" The guard was staring wide eyed from the door to me. "You're not the one we locked up last night!"

"Ok then, you should just let me go without problem then. Heh, sorry about your hand." I smirked as I saw the bandages wrapped around it.

"Stay still or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" I asked, pinning him against the wall with my claws to his neck. I glanced down either side of the narrow hallway. "Hmm… Why am I the only one who needs guards?" He glared at me but the fear was obvious. "Never mind, I don't really care. I just want to know where Akumei is. You know, the man I was with before that jerk hit me from behind. He has long black hair. His scent is all over you so you must have helped carry him somewhere. I need you to take me there." He still remained silent. "Fine, I'll just do it the hard way and track your scent backwards. But I can't have you following me so no hard feelings, k?" I smiled harmlessly and then punched him full in the face, lowering him gently to the ground. "Sorry…" I looked down the hall to my right and sniffed, sensing nothing, so I tried the left and caught Akumei's scent almost immediately. "I'm coming…" I whispered as I sprinted down the hallway.

With his scent growing ever stronger, I kept speeding up, almost forgetting that I was trying to stay hidden. My bare feet made no noise even as they pounded rapidly on the hard floor and the sword and camera were tightly in place so they could not knock against me. I heard a movement around the corner ahead and tried to freeze, claws skidding across the ground and wings outspread to slow me. I managed to stop and peered around the corner. It was the girl from before! Before I even had time to realize that there was no place to hide, Mimori was staring at me. Her mouth opened and I lunged forward, covering it. "Please don't yell or anything! I just want to find Akumei so I can get out of here!"

She nodded, eyes still wide, and I released her. "You… You're really the girl from yesterday?"

"Please… can you tell me where he is?" I murmured. "It's so important…"

She stared a moment longer and then pointed down the hall she had just come from. "I just checked on him. Go down there, turn left, and it's the third door on your right."

"Thank you so much! Please don't tell anyone you saw me!" She nodded again and I smiled thankfully before rushing down the indicated hall. Mimori stared after me silently and then continued on her way. "Left, third right, left, third right…" I repeated to myself under my breath as I ran. "I'm coming Akumei!"

I saw the doors coming up and slowed, coming to a halt in front of the proper one. I pressed my ear to it and heard no voices yet his scent was very strong. _He's definitely in there…_ I reached out slowly and grasped the handle on the door, turning it softly. I pushed it forward and peeked through into the dark room through the crack I had made. Taking a deep breath, I made the gap big enough for me to squeeze by and slipped into the room, standing still while I waited for my eyes to adjust to the dim light. It didn't take long and I quickly made out Akumei lying in one of the beds placed along the walls. Almost running to his side, I crouched down and looked him over. He seemed to be perfectly fine. I pulled the sheets off him and slipped his arm around my shoulder to lift him up. _Man, why do you have to be so heavy?_ I thought to myself as I half dragged him towards the door.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I nearly jumped out of my skin as someone shouted at me. Looking up, I saw a doctor standing in the doorway I had left slightly open. "What are you…?" He added, taking a closer glance.

_Crap._ I knelt down and shifted Akumei onto my back in between the wings before staggering up, almost falling before catching my balance again. Both hands were behind me to keep him from slipping and his legs were on either side of my waist as if he were getting a piggyback ride. He seemed to dwarf me in size though."Excuse me, I'm in a hurry and I don't want to have to hurt you." I said with a cheerful smile. The doctor held his hand up defensively but stood his ground. "Last warning…!" I called in a singsong voice, removing a hand from my back and curling the fingers into a fist so the knuckles popped. That did it. I smiled again and shot forward as the doctor scurried out of the way. _I'm sure he'll call for backup or something… This sucks!_ I folded the wings down on my back over Akumei as I ran so they wouldn't slow me down, and darted along the so far deserted hallways. I kept taking random turns without slowing down, having no idea where I was going and no longer caring if I was seen.

Two men in uniform passed once and I ducked into a room before they saw me as they rushed past, assumedly to the doctor. I continued and came to a small door at the end of the passage. Gritting my teeth and preparing for anything, I shoved through. I was now in the corner of a large room. It was full of people all staring at a boy who seemed to be holding Mimori hostage. I saw the green haired boy right in front of them but unable to do anything and then realized the other was the one he defeated last night.

Fighting my instinct to help out, I inched around the wall furthest from the people, still holding Akumei steady with both hands and my wings. _So close…_ I reached out and grabbed the handle just as a loud crash erupted from behind me.

As I stepped through the door, I glanced back and saw Mimori and the brown haired boy disappearing into the floor. The green haired boy began shouting orders and that's when they saw me. Everyone stopped short and stared for a moment before someone yelled to "stop her!"

I leapt through the doors without hesitation and began running but someone caught my wrist. I turned around and glared. "You…!" I cried. It was Striaght, the man who had knocked me out from behind last night. I gritted my teeth as he kept hold of my arm while the others approached. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to hit a girl, especially from behind?" Still finishing the last word, I jumped up. His hand released me in surprise and I swung a foot full into his face, leaping away as he was knocked back. "Jerk." I spat as I started running down the street, disregarding the skirt. At the same time, the brown haired boy jumped into a car with Mimori driving and shot after me.

"Ow!" Striaght shouted as he clasped a hand to his busted lip and bruised cheek. Jumping to his feet, he wobbled for a moment before leaping into his car and racing us both. "How the hell is she so fast?" He blinked as he saw me keeping pace with Mimori's car.

"Do you need any help?" I asked Mimori as I ran alongside her.

She and the boy stared in shock before she replied. "No…"

"Alright then, thanks for the help! Watch your back though, he's coming closer." I smiled and pulled ahead, passing them and continuing down the road. I leapt to the side as a jeep like car with open back and sides sped past me to Mimori's car. Glancing over my shoulder I saw the boy jump out and into this new vehicle before it turned around to come after me again. _They're escaping too…_ I slowed as it pulled beside me. "Hey, can I jump in?" I asked.

They stared in shock still until the brown haired boy nodded. "Thanks…" I jumped up and landed lightly in the back, setting Akumei beside me, as I tried to catch my breath.

I looked up at the boy's words in time to see a bridge rising. "Step on the gas!" We shot forward as Striaght's car merged with Mimori's to keep her safe and they skidded to a halt to not go over the rising bridge.

"Thanks, but I have to go!" I cried urgently as I scooped Akumei onto my back again. The car hit the end of the bridge and shot into the air. At the same time, I jumped upwards and spread my wings. "Hey!" I felt someone grab my ankle and dropped a few inches. Someone grabbed onto them and I fell a few feet. "Let go!"

"Just a bit further…!" They urged and I winced as I looked up to see the other side of the bridge just ahead of us, raised high into the air.

"Stop looking up my skirt or I'll drop you!" I screamed and heard both their heads jerk down. Gritting my teeth, I flapped the wings and closed one eye, wincing,as I continued steadily forward yet steadily dropping as well. "Oof!" I heard them grunt as they hit the wall. In turn, I fell forward flat on my face in the dirt once more. Akumei toppled forward off me and I sat up, quickly turning around.

"Ah-!" I cried as I grabbed the boy's hand just as his grasp slipped free. I began hauling them up and once the first was up, I grabbed the next and pulled him over as well. "Everyone ok now?" I panted, sitting on my knees in the dirt with head bowed.

"What are you…?"

I raised my head and faced them. "A demon." I replied, purposely baring my fangs. I laughed at their faces. "But it's ok, I'm not going to do anything. My name's Kira." I smiled.

"I'm Kazuma." The brown haired boy who had escaped replied.

"And I'm Kimishima." The other added.

"Alright, can you tell me what that place is?" I asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Kazuma cried.

"It's called Holy." Kimishima replied. "They keep alter users locked up in there."

"Alter users…?" I echoed.

"You really don't know?" Kimishima asked in shock. I shook my head and he continued. "They are people who have alter powers. I guess you don't know what those are either?" I shook my head again and he went on. "Maybe Kazuma could just show you his. It's kind of an ability that only certain people have. I can't do anything but he can."

"Oh, you mean what he did with his arm?" I paused, thinking. "And how that guy's car fused with the other? And… that purple and white thing that other guy had?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Kimishima cried. "But you're really a… demon…?"

I nodded. "Yep, and I know what you're about to say. Yes, the ears, tail, and stuff are natural. I don't have any alter powers, at least not that I know of… Are we really safe to stop here?"

"No, we should really get going." Kazuma replied. "We'll head to my house I guess."

"Does that "we" include us?" I asked.

"Us…?" Kazuma answered, glancing over to see me pointing towards Akumei. "Oh… well yeah, I mean, you helped us escape didn't you?"

"Great, thank you!" I smiled in relief as I went over to pick up Akumei. "How are we getting there?"

"Well since my ride was trashed…" Kimishima whimpered. "I guess we'll have to walk!"

"Oh, stop whining. At least we made it out." Kazuma muttered. I just laughed as I held Akumei beside me and the four of us began moving.

Finally, we came upon a small town. I had pulled Kaidoh's bandana from my bag to hide the ears and was attempting to hold my tail around my waist. Still I felt eyes on me. _Maybe it's the wings…?_ I thought sarcastically. They were tucked in as much as possible but it's hard to hide such huge things and they remained very obvious. I bowed my head and walked on in silence between the two boys.

We stopped in front of a house and I followed Kazuma to the front door. "Kanami…? I'm back!"

A young girl with a long, thick braid opened the door and immediately began yelling at him. "Where have you been? What did you think you were doing, disappearing for so long?"

Kazuma scratched his head guiltily and slipped in past her. Kanami followed him and Kimishima pushed me inside as well. I stood awkwardly in front of the door with Kimishima as Kazuma continued to be chewed out by Kanami. Suddenly she turned, as if only now realizing I was there. "Oh, hello." She smiled. "Are you a friend of Kazuma's?"

I laughed slightly. "Yes, I am."

"What's wrong with him?" She added.

"Akumei? He's just sleeping, don't worry." I assured her.

She gave me an odd look and then went into another room, pausing in the doorway. "I'm going to make dinner. Would you like some?"

"Yes please!" Kimishima shouted immediately.

I just shook my head. "No thanks, I'm fine." _She hasn't noticed the wings yet…_

"All right…" She smiled and entered the room.

"Well…" I sighed, setting Akumei against a wall and turning back towards the boys. "Thanks for this. I'll be gone soon though so I need your pictures, preferably with me." I grinned as I held up the camera.

"What for?" They asked in confusion.

"I'm doing a lot of traveling and am keeping track of people I meet. So, how about it?"

"I don't see a problem, right Kazuma?" Kimishima said. He just shrugged in reply.

"Ok, thank you!" I laughed as I jumped between them and snapped the picture quickly, jumping as the camera started whirring. "Oh… Time for a film change…" I knelt beside the camera bag I had placed beside Akumei and pulled out an extra roll of film. Carefully I pulled the used one from the camera and placed it in its old container before inserting the new roll in its place. Switch complete, I put it all away and stood up again. "Well now that that's done…?" My voice trailed off as I crouched down again, clutching my head through the bandana. I waved the boys off as they tried to see what was wrong.

_Kira?_

_Yeah, I'm here._

_Ready to go again?_

_Always am!_

_All right then, just a second._

I looked up at the boys with a grin. "Time for me to go! It has been fun. Don't get caught again, alright?" I teased, sticking my tongue out as I turned back to gather my things. I stuffed the bandana back into the bag for fear in losing it and strapped the sword tightly around my waist. Last, I picked up Akumei and slipped his arm around my neck.

"What do you… mean…?" Kimishima murmured.

"Well I said I'd been doing lots of traveling lately and you also know I'm a demon. I'm not from this world and now I'm trying to get back to mine. It's time for me to head to another world and see if it's the right one!"

"Well… good luck then." Kazuma laughed.

I gave an amused laugh in return at how well he accepted it. "Thanks."

Kimishima was still gaping as he stared. He jumped back as I started to glow. With a smile and a wave, I disappeared from the room.

Kanami emerged from the next room and looked around. "Well the foods ready… but where did that girl go?"

"Home…" Kazuma murmured and then entered the kitchen. Kanami gave him an odd look before following. The scent of the meal snapped Kimishima out of his shock and he went after them, complaining about being left out.

* * *

"I've… sent her… again…" The girl murmured, breathing rather heavily for just having been sitting lifelessly. 

"Oh, I hadn't realized you were awake!" Kyoshi turned towards her. "Are you alright?"

"Tired…" She sighed. "But I'll get her back… Don't worry…"

"If you need to take a breather, you better." Kyoshi warned. "It'd be better for you to take slightly longer each time rather than passing out for days when you become too exhausted."

"Yes, you're right. I think I… will…" She whispered, falling over into the grass as her voice trailed off again.

"No objections to that, right Hiei?" Kyoshi smirked.

"Hn." Hiei grunted, arms crossed and eyes closed. Kyoshi just shook his head and returned to his work.


	44. Love Hina

* * *

Once again, I appeared just about ten feet above the ground. I had time to spread my wings but that was about it. Directly below me, a young man jumped as something hit his head. He felt for it and came back with a pure black feather. "Huh…?" He looked up just in time for me to land on top of him. The girl he was walking with cried out in shock and jumped away from us. 

"Oh crap, I'm so sorry!" I squealed as I tried to get up but Akumei was on top of me as well. Beneath the two of us, the man's arms flailed and he grabbed hold of the front of my shirt, pulling downwards. I shrieked and slapped him full across the face before I realized what I was doing. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

"Don't be." The girl came back and helped lift Akumei off me as she glared at the guy. She had pretty brown, mid back length hair. The boy had short black hair and glasses, which had been knocked off from the slap.

After I was up and holding Akumei again, I turned and smiled towards her. "Thanks." I murmured awkwardly.

She smiled back pleasantly as the young man began helping himself up. "No problem. If you don't mind my asking… where did you come from just now?"

"You came out of nowhere!" The boy added and then stopped short. "Hey… what are you?"

"Keitaro, that's rude!" She shouted at him.

I just laughed. "Don't worry about it. I get that all the time. Truth is I'm a demon who's traveling between different worlds as I try to return to my own. Ugh, everyone's staring at me…"

"Well you do kind of stick out from the average person." The girl pointed out, seeming to accept my story with ease. "Oh, I'm Naru."

"I'm Kira." I smiled, taking the offered hand.

"And I'm Keitaro." The boy pitched in.

"Nice to meet you both." I nodded slightly and then looked at my dirt smeared clothes. "As you can see I'm definitely dressed to meet people…"

"We can fix that if you wouldn't mind coming with us." Naru offered. "We were just returning home."

"I don't want to cause any trouble…"

"Nonsense, it's no trouble at all! As long as _he_ keeps his hands to himself…" She added, shooting a glare at Keitaro who held up his hands defensively.

I laughed slightly. "Alright…" I followed the two down the sidewalk, walking with my head bowed. Once again, I had pulled out Kaidoh's bandana to hide the ears. The tail was wrapped around my waist and the wings were folded in as tightly as possible. They were still really noticeable though and people wouldn't stop staring. There was also the fact that I was half dragging an unconscious man beside me. "Is it far…?" I asked nervously.

"Nope, we're here!" Naru declared and I looked up, seeing a flight of stone stairs. After a short while of walking up them, I gasped out. "Wow! You live here? It's huge!" Sitting before us was a house, wooden and at least three stories high.

"Well there are others too." Naru laughed. "It's an all girls hotel."

"Then… Why's Keitaro here?" I asked.

She gave an exasperated sigh. "He's the manager…"

"Oh…" I murmured as I followed the pair inside.

She had me set Akumei, my camera with Kaidoh's bandana, and my sword in an unused room and then hang a sign on the door that said, "Do not disturb" so hopefully nobody would enter. Next, we went to her room. "Alright, give me your clothes so I can make sure they're washed."

"Umm… what do I change into?" I asked.

"This." She handed me a towel.

"What…?" My face was gradually growing redder.

"There are hot springs here. It's getting dark so it'll be nice." She smiled. "Don't worry, we'll all girls here and Keitaro isn't allowed in."

"Well I've never been in hot springs before…" I murmured as I began to undress. I quickly wrapped the towel tightly around myself, dropping it low in the back for the wings, as Naru changed as well. Then she took my clothes and we went back into the hall.

We passed a younger girl with short, dark hair who was holding a basket of clothes. Naru greeted her happily. "Hey Shinobu! Would you mind washing these for us?" She requested.

"Ok…" The girl nodded and took my clothes, adding them to the basket. She turned to me, smiling softly. "Hello, I'm Shinobu."

"I'm Kira." I grinned, shaking hands with her.

"Are you a friend of Naru's?"

"Yep! We're heading to the hot springs." Naru replied for me.

"I'll join you later." Shinobu said. "I think the others are already there."

"Alright, see you soon…!" Naru called after her as the girl continued down the hall, but not before stealing another curious glance at me. "This way." Naru directed as we started off again. Soon we came to doors leading outside and went through to the springs. There were rocks everywhere jutting out of the water and steam floating just above the surface. Sitting around various places were several girls.

"Hey Naru…" One of them called. "Who's your friend?"

"Her name's Kira and she's never been to a hot spring before so I invited her."

"Does she have some kind of anime obsession?" Another asked, referring to the ears and wings. The tail was hidden under the towel.

"Nope, they're real!" Naru smiled.

I looked away from all the sudden stares I was receiving. Finally, the one who had asked in the first place shrugged. "Well, come on in. It feels really good tonight."

"Alright, thanks…" I murmured as I slipped off the towel and slid into the water. I shivered at first and then got used to the heat, staying with my chin just touching the surface. "Wow…" I laughed slightly.

"See? It's great living here with it." Naru grinned and then introduced me to everyone. The girl who had asked about my ears was Mitsune. She had short brown hair and was not modest in any way about hiding herself in the water or telling what she thought. She was the oldest at nineteen. Next was long black haired, fifteen year old Motoko who seemed often serious and mostly into martial arts. She was the main person who watched over the hyperactive foreign exchange student, Kaolla Su whose bright, short blonde hair definitely stood out from the usual dark. Su was also the youngest at only thirteen. Naru was seventeen and I was sixteen, right in the middle. Shinobu, the mild mannered one who turned out to also be thirteen, joined us shortly and informed me that the clothes had been hung up to dry.

"Thanks." I smiled and the regular chatting resumed. At one point, Su leapt onto my shoulders and began tugging on my ears until Motoko forcibly removed her. That was really the only interesting thing that happened. Gradually it quieted as it grew later and we all just relaxed. "Wait a second…" I whispered suddenly.

"What?" Naru asked.

"There's no moon tonight…" I frowned.

"Why does that matter?" Mitsune questioned.

"Well, just be ready for a sudden change in my appearance…" I warned. Sure enough, just a few minutes after I had said this, I began to glow softly. Everyone stared as the ears and tail disappeared along with the facial markings. The nails and claws shrunk to normal human length and the pure black hair swirled into sliver. I blinked my eyes and when they reopened, they were ice blue. The glowing faded and I sighed, explaining before they could ask. "I'm not a full demon, close, but not quite. Because of this, I transform into a human one night a month and tonight's the night."

"You still have wings!" Su cried out joyfully as she began playing with them.

"Since they're not part of my demon form, they stay."

"Your human self had wings?" Shinobu asked in wonder.

I laughed. "No, I was in a fight and a demon threw some gas at me. When I inhaled it, I grew these wings. They are not natural, but I am stuck with them now. I am able to pull them in and out but it's really painful and I prefer not to. Oh, can I make a request?"

"Sure, go ahead." Mitsune replied.

"I need a big group picture of us all, including Keitaro as well." I had told them earlier about it and the reason why, so they easily accepted now. "Alright!" I grinned as we all headed out in a big group to change into real clothes. I myself remained in just a towel as I waited for Shinobu to get ready so she could take me to where she had hung my clothes to dry. She finished and I followed nervously, holding the towel tightly around myself.

"Don't worry, we'll be there soon." She smiled and almost immediately stopped at a door. She slid it open and we went through to where a bunch of clothes were hanging on lines, blowing softly in the wind. She pulled mine down and handed them to me. After, we ducked into her room where I changed quickly and then we headed to the unused room where Akumei was. I grabbed my camera and we both rejoined the others. Keitaro was with them now as well.

"So everyone's here?" I asked as Shinobu and I walked up.

"Yes." Naru nodded. After a bit of scurrying around, we all finally had a place where we'd be seen and I snapped the picture before everyone scattered again.

"Thank you very much." I smiled. Suddenly, I gave a soft moan and fell to one knee, waving them off before they could interrupt.

_Kira…?_

_Yeah, I'm here._

_Are you ready?_

_Yes, but will it mess anything up if I move a bit?_

_No, I don't think so…_

_Good, because I need to._

_All right, I'll give you a minute to get ready._

_Thanks…_ I stood and smiled around at everyone, wincing very slightly. "That was the girl who's transporting me. I just have to get Akumei and my sword and then it's time for me to go. Heh, don't know why but it hurts my head slightly right before she starts talking…" Everyone followed me as I went back to the room and strapped on my sword. I felt Motoko's eyes on it as she owned a katana herself, but I warned her about touching it. Next, I stood Akumei up and held his arm around my shoulder. "Well, thanks for everything. The hot springs was a great break from everything!" We all said our goodbyes and just as the last person was finishing, I began to glow. With a soft grin and a wave, I disappeared from the room.

* * *

"Sent her… again…" The girl sighed and her eyes fluttered closed immediately again. 

"She's tiring herself out." Kyoshi murmured. "How much longer do you think she'll last?" Hiei just grunted, arms crossed over his chest, so Kyoshi continued. "I told her to get some real sleep but she's just going into light dazes so she won't have to pause in her searches. She is really determined to bring Kira back… I just hope she doesn't hurt herself or anything…"


	45. Revisiting Friuts Basket

* * *

This time I appeared right at the top level of some trees and didn't have time to react, so I plunged straight into the tops like a stone. I wrapped my arms around Akumei protectively, and then encircled us both with my wings, hoping that would cushion us somewhat. Nonetheless, we crashed straight through all the way to the ground. "Nn…" I murmured, wincing as I landed on my leg. I looked down and saw it was twisted somewhat. "Oh no, could I have broken it?" I cried out in horror. "Can I heal broken bones…?" 

"What was that crashing noise?" I looked up at a somewhat familiar voice.

"It came from over this way…" Another also recognizable voice replied.

Then a girl emerged from the trees and stopped short, staring at me. "Eh…? Eh…!" Her eyes went wide as she rushed to my side. "Are you all right?"

"Yes I'm fine…" I murmured. "No need to worry… Oh! I know you!" I smiled. "Tohru, right? We've met before…"

"W-we have?" She stammered, bowing low and apologizing. "I'm sorry, I don't remember you!"

I just laughed softly. "Don't worry about it. I've undergone a temporary transformation since then."

"What…?" Tohru stared closer at me and then suddenly started in surprise. "Kira!"

I nodded with a grin. "Yep, what's up?"

"What's wrong…?" I looked up to see Yuki walking up, followed closely by Haru and Momiji with Kyo trailing behind. "Kira…?" Yuki blinked. "What are you doing back here?"

"I was attacked and sent away again…" I laughed nervously scratching the back of my head.

"Why'd you let them sneak up on you?" Kyo muttered.

"I had just been through… a lot…" I shivered at the memory. "Anyway, it's fine now. I'm trying to return again."

"Who's this?" Haru asked, poking at Akumei.

"Stop that!" I cried. "This is Akumei and before you ask, yes he is the one who sent me away last time and he is only asleep because he's helping me."

"Helping?" Yuki echoed. "In what way?"

"Well being transported also takes energy from the one being sent so instead he's offering enough for the both of us…" I hung my head guiltily. "And he won't be talked out of it."

"What happened to your ears and tail?" Momiji whimpered as if totally crushed.

"She has wings now instead…" Haru pointed out, pulling on one. "And sliver hair and blue eyes."

"Ow!" I cried out and he pulled away sharply. "Oh no, that shouldn't have hurt…" I folded the wing in front of me and looked it over, wincing. "There are… sticks in it." I gasped out. "In both of them! What should I do?"

"Visit a vet?" Haru offered. He was met by a wave of glares.

"So, what is she?" I looked up at the new voice. It belonged to a young boy. I then noticed there was a little girl beside him as well.

I forced a smile. "Oh hello, I haven't met either of you before…"

"They're Hiro and Kisa!" Tohru smiled, referring first to the boy and then the girl.

"You didn't answer my question." Hiro glared, crossing his arms.

I laughed nervously. "Well, at the moment I'm human… and I will be until morning."

"At the moment…?" Hiro echoed, raising an eyebrow. "And do humans normally have wings like that?"

"I fought in that tournament of demons that I told you about last time…"

"Really? How'd it go?" Kyo asked excitedly.

"Well, my team won actually. I fought in the final battle of the entire thing. I won somehow but it took forever for me to heal afterwards." I shrugged and continued. "Anyway, the demon from the final match threw some gas at me. He didn't know what it would do but it ended up giving me these wings! Since they're not a part of my demon form, I don't lose them when I transform."

"Transform…?" Tohru asked.

I nodded. "Since I'm not a full demon, I transform into a human every month. My time is the night when there is no moon. So… this is my human form."

"You're a… demon?" Kisa asked in a very timid voice.

I smiled reassuringly at her as Momiji spoke. "Don't worry, she's not a bad demon at all. She let me play with her ears!"

"Ears…?"

"Yeah! She had great big wolf ears! And a fluffy tail too!"

I laughed. "They'll be back tomorrow so you can see. Hold on a second, I hurt my ankle when I landed on it…" I closed my eyes and my hands turned green. I set them on my leg and the pain gradually disappeared until it had faded entirely. "There…"

"What was that?" Kisa asked, fascination overcoming fear.

"It's called spirit energy." I explained. "I can use it to heal or just shape it into things." To demonstrate I held out my hand, making a small ball appear in it, which I then offered to her. She took it hesitantly and soon Hiro was inspecting it as well. "So, what are all of you doing out here tonight?" I asked.

"We were just on a walk…" Yuki replied.

"Well that's fun." I smiled as I began plucking sticks from the wings. "This isn't though…" I sighed, jumping as Yuki kneeled beside me to help. Tohru was already pulling them out. "Thanks…" I murmured. When we finally finished my wings were covered in many individual trickles of blood running all over them both. I made the ball disappear and instead used the energy to heal the wounds that were everywhere. "Well, this is pretty…" I muttered. Even though they were healed, that didn't make the already present blood go away.

"We were just on our way back. Would you like to come spend the night again?" Yuki offered.

"Oh, I couldn't trouble you again!" I cried.

"Ah! But you can't sleep outside!" Tohru cried.

"And you gotta admit…" Kyo pointed out. "Dressed like that you look pretty helpless."

"It's… not my fault." I felt my face growing red. "These are the only clothes she'd give me…" I stood and immediately fell back over, blinking in surprise. "Wha…? I guess my ankle didn't really heal all the way…" I tried again and leaned against a tree until I had my balance. Letting go, I found I was wrong again and toppled over once more. "Stupid!" I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I looked up as a hand was offered to me. Much to my surprise, it was Kyo.

"I can't stand seeing you do that. It's so… pathetic." He muttered.

"Well excuse me for injuring myself…" I sighed, taking his hand. He hauled me up and supported me, as I made sure I didn't grab onto him in case he changed into a cat.

"Now, don't grab hold of me ok?"

"Ok…?" My voice trailed off in alarm as he scooped me up and I clasped my hands together to keep from holding around his neck for support. That, without a doubt, would change him into the cat.

"Stop staring at me!" Kyo shouted at everyone and then started walking forward.

"Wait!" I cried. "What about Akumei?"

"I'll get him…" Haru offered, wrapping one of Akumei's arms around his shoulder to hold him.

The entire group started moving with Kyo and me in the lead. My face was gradually darkening red and Kyo's was as well. "Why are you doing this?" I murmured. "Last time you barely spoke to me."

"I told you, you looked so pathetic trying to stand on your own. It was annoying."

"Right…" I sighed. "If I was still a demon, it could be healed within an hour at the most. However now I have to wait until tomorrow when I change back…"

"Does it…" Kyo began. "Get you in trouble when you transform?"

"Only if I'm attacked during the time I am human. I lose many of my abilities, though having spirit power helps… The main problem is rejection. Demons don't like you because you're part human, and humans don't like you because you're part demon. At least that's the way it works back home… Oh! But I shouldn't be talking about this now. I'm sorry…"

"Don't say you're sorry for no reason. It's fine."

"O-ok…"

There was a short silence, broken by Kyo. "Well…?"

"Well what?"

"I know you weren't finished and I said it was fine. Go on…"

"O-oh, alright…" I stammered before continuing. "I would secretly look forward to becoming human…"

"What for?" He asked in surprise.

"Well, because usually the only ones I could be with without getting beat up was my immediate family. If they were busy then I would be left completely alone. However, once a month, on the night I became human, I would slip away from the place my brothers hid me to keep me safe and travel to a village. Then I could play with the other kids and pretend to be normal like them. It always made me sad to leave quickly before the sun came up, but if they discovered what I was, I'd never be allowed near again…" I looked up, smiling again and he was caught off guard for a moment by it. "But it's alright because most of the people in these other worlds I've visited accept me anyway and I have fun hanging out with them while I have the chance."

"Y-yeah…" Kyo murmured, looking away as his cheeks tinged pink.

I laughed and fell silent again. Soon I began to wish I had my ears back so I could listen in on the others walking behind us. I could hear their whispers but couldn't quite make it out.

"What did you do to deal with it?" Kyo asked suddenly.

"With what…?"

"The rejection…"

"Oh… My family was very accepting. Unlike most, they didn't care that I was part human. One of my brothers and my mom were also half demons. My dad was strange in the way that he easily loved us all. My oldest brother has a superiority complex and is out to kill my other brother, yet cared for me. It's all really strange…"

"The way you're speaking… Are your… parents gone?" I looked up at Yuki who had approached and spoken.

I nodded slowly as my hands automatically moved to clutch the locket I wore. "Yeah… Now it is just my brothers and me. I'm not sure what happened to my parents… I was separated at a very young age."

"How so?" Tohru asked, walking alongside us.

I laughed slightly. "It's kind of confusing… Back home when I was young, someone came up behind me and pushed me. That resulted in me being sucked into a well that transported me to current day America. Once there I was either reborn into a family, or first died and then was reborn into a human family. After every fifteen years or so, I'd catch an incurable disease, die from it, and be reborn again as another human. This lasted for about five hundred years. Finally, just a year or so ago some people found me and at the same time one of my brothers did. They had been working on a cure and gave it to me so I didn't die and then they took me off to train for the tournament I've mentioned. And… that's it."

"That's it? How can you just say 'that's it' like it's nothing?" Kyo almost yelled. "And did you find whoever pushed you and kick his ass?"

"Tohru, are you alright?" Yuki asked.

"I'm still… taking it in…" Tohru murmured.

"Kira's so strange!" Momiji laughed. Kisa and Hiro just stared in disbelief at me and Haru was trailing behind distractedly holding Akumei.

I looked up at Kyo. "Well, it _is_ nothing. It's the past and it's over with. Besides, I did actually find the one and I punched him right in the face." I grinned.

Kyo was frowning and still looked angry so my smile faded and I fell silent. I felt his grip loosen and bit my tongue to keep from crying out as I thought he was about to drop me. My hands tightened around the locket so I wouldn't grab onto him either. Then I heard him laugh and his hold on me tightened again. "I started to shift you into an easier position to hold and then realized you might grab onto me after I had already moved you. But thanks for not…"

"Well I told you I wouldn't." I laughed, sticking out my tongue. "Almost did though…"

He nodded with an amused half smile as he continued.

"Well, we're back…" Yuki announced quietly as we reached the wooden house in the woods where Kyo, Yuki, and Tohru were staying. We all followed him to the door and entered almost silently.

"Hey, why are you being so quiet?" Shigure called and then poked his head around a door. "Oh! Is that you Kira? What are you doing back? And why is Kyo carrying you…" He added.

"Shut up!" Kyo shouted, setting me down.

I laughed slightly. "Yes, it's me. I fell and hurt my ankle so I couldn't walk, and I'm back because I was attacked and sent from my home again."

"Well aren't you the lucky one!" Shigure exclaimed, almost sarcastically.

Yuki shot him a glare and I sighed as Tohru entered the kitchen to prepare dinner. Akumei was placed against a wall and my sword and camera were set beside him as I went off with the others. We just hung out until the meal was finished. I played with Momiji, Kisa, and Hiro; or rather, they played with me, finding the wings endlessly enjoyable. By the time Tohru called everyone to eat, they each had a perfect black feather of their own to keep.

Everyone gathered around the table, and even though I didn't eat, they had me join them. They all finished and Kyo, Yuki, Tohru, Shigure, Haru, and I sat around talking while the others went to play in the next room. Eventually, Tohru went to check on them and discovered that the three had fallen asleep. We all peeked in and saw Hiro and Kisa fast asleep with Momiji out cold in between them. Tohru spread a blanketover the trioand then yawned herself.

"Tired already, Tohru?" Shigure asked.

She nodded sleepily in reply. "Yes…"

"You don't have to stay up." Yuki pointed out.

"Yes…" She repeated. "Goodnight everyone…" With that, she wandered upstairs to her room.

"Well," Shigure started, getting to his feet. "I'm going to call their parents to let them know that they're spending the night." He was referring to Kisa, Hiro and Momiji, still asleep in the next room. "Are you staying too Haru?"

"Yes." The boy answered and Shigure left the room.

"Where is everyone sleeping?" Kyo asked.

"I'll sleep in Yuki's room." Haru offered, prompting a sigh from Yuki.

"I'll sleep anywhere, it doesn't really matter." I offered.

"You can have the couch in the room with those three then." Kyo decided and I nodded agreement. With everything figured out, we all went to our newly designated places and settled down for the night.

I woke up the next morning, blinking in the sunlight. I sat up, happy to find that the hair I moved from my face was black once again, and looked up as Tohru entered the room. "Good morning!" She called.

"Morning…" I murmured, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" She paused for a moment. "Oh, and is your ankle better?"

"Yes to both questions…" My ear twitched. "Hey, is it raining outside?"

"Yes, why?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Because there's still blood on my wings… Oh, don't worry about the couch. It's dried so it didn't get on it." I added quickly.

"Wouldn't you rather take a shower?" I turned around to see Yuki standing in the doorway.

I just grinned and shook my head. "Nope, the rain is a lot more fun."

"Are you going to come and eat with us today?" Tohru asked.

"No, I'm fine." I smiled. We all left the room but I split from them and headed outside instead of in to eat. It wasn't raining, it was pouring. Despite this, I stepped off the porch and stood in the dirt path with deep puddles riddled along it. My bare feet sunk in the mud but still my tail wagged happily and I turned my face upwards to the sky, closing my eyes and smiling. The wings spread out beside me to their full lengths and the dried red ran down and dripped from the black feathers, leaving them clean.

"Are you crazy?"

I turned my head and grinned at Kyo who was standing under the protection of the porch's overhang. "No, I don't think so." I laughed, ear twitching as another huge drop hit it. The waist length hair was plastered messily to my body from the downpour and stuck to my face in odd places.

Kyo remained glaring at me for a moment and suddenly tossed something to me. "Here."

I caught it out of instinct and saw it was a small green hair tie. "Thanks." I laughed as I pulled my hair up into a ponytail to keep it at least a little tame, though random strands were still stuck to my face. Suddenly I crouched down low, holding my head with both hands. Kyo started towards me but then recalled the last time it has happened: when Akumei was contacting me. I had asked for quiet then so he assumed I still wanted it now. So he just remained watching.

_Kira?_

_Yes, I'm here._

_Are you ready?_

_Yes._

_Ok, I think you'll be home soon…_

_Good. _I laughed and heard no more. Standing, I turned and faced Kyo, face dripping with the rain. "It's time for me to go again. I need my things but I can't enter your house like this…"

"Ok…" He murmured and disappeared inside, returning shortly with my sword and camera. Haru was coming up behind him with Akumei in tow and everyone else was following him.

I approached the porch but stopped myself before stepping onto it. "Oh, it's fine. Don't worry about it!" Shigure laughed.

I laughed as well and stepped onto the wooden floor, taking my things from Kyo and setting Akumei down gently again. "Quickly, before I go, I need a big group picture of everyone."

"We did this last time!" Kyo muttered.

"Yeah, last time." I nodded. "But this is now." With just a little more prodding from me, I got Kyo, Yuki, Tohru, Shigure, Haru, Kisa, and Hiro to line up. Setting up the camera, I leapt into the picture and turned around in time for it to flash. "Thanks." I laughed. "Sorry to bother you all again."

"You're not a bother!" Tohru cried.

"Come back and visit again!" Momiji added.

"Heh, I just might end up doing so." I smiled as I bent to wrap Akumei's arm around my shoulder again, just in time to start glowing. "See ya!" I called as I disappeared.

"She is a strange one, isn't she?"

The entire group remained staring for a moment before retreating from the rain back inside the house.

* * *

"S-sent…" The girl stammered in a barely audible voice before collapsing once again. Kyoshi and Hiei each shot her a look but both remained silent. 


	46. Saiyuki Once Again

* * *

I landed with a thud in sand, jumping as Akumei hit hard on top of me. "Ow…" Once again, I had appeared too close to the ground to react and slow down first. "Why is this happening all of the sudden?" I slid out from under Akumei and looked around. "A desert, great…" I sighed, getting to my feet and pulling Akumei with me. I started half dragging him along the hot landscape with me. I was wet when I hit the ground so now I was covered in sand as well. I muttered under my breath as I continued doggedly forward for miles. Occasionally I would stumble and barely catch myself, afraid that if I fell, I wouldn't get back up again. 

After what seemed like forever, I arrived at a town. Despite my exhaustion, I immediately caught a few very familiar scents and went towards them without hesitation. I was totally oblivious to the stares I was getting as I staggered down the road and entered a bar. As I swung the door wide, every eye in the place fell one me. I ignored it and proceeded to a table where four people sat. "H-hey g-guys…" I gasped out and then collapsed onto the ground.

"Oh my…" Hakkai murmured, staring.

Goku shoved the last of his food into his mouth and then jumped down beside me. "Kira? Wake up! Since when did you have wings?"

Gojyo got up now as well and crouched beside me. "Well, we gotta take her to our room now. Can't just leave her here…" He smirked slightly as he scooped up my limp form.

"Control yourself, Gojyo…" Hakkai said casually as he picked up Akumei as well and went out the door. Gojyo and Goku quickly followed.

"Should we just let them take her?" "She looked like some kind of angel!" "What are they going to do?" "We can't let those guys have her…" All of the whispering stopped immediately as Sanzo stood and shot them all a glare before leaving as well. He caught up with the others already at the hotel room.

"She's all gross and sandy…" Gojyo muttered as he set me on a bed.

"We need to get her cleaned up. Just a moment please." Hakkai said and then left the room. He came back shortly after with a girl just a few years older than me. "She has agreed to help." He smiled.

"Could you all please leave the room?" The girl asked hesitantly.

"What?" Gojyo asked, his face falling.

"Her father is the hotel's manager." Hakkai explained as he ushered the other three out of the room with him. "She has volunteered to fix Kira up for us. Meanwhile, we'll go explore the town!"

The girl nodded her thanks and shut the door behind them, turning to me. She looked me over curiously and then half dragged me into the bathroom. I was undressed, washed, and then wrapped in a wide robe while she took my clothes to be washed. She had trouble because of the wings and ended up having to cut the back out. Tying the belt around my waist to hold it closed, she dragged me back to the bed and laid me down, turning as a knock sounded on the door. She opened it to find all four guys standing there. "Oh, you're back." She murmured. "I've just finished. I'll take her clothes to be washed and they will be ready tomorrow. For now, she is still asleep. And so is that other man…"

"Alright, thank you very much." Hakkai smiled and she returned it, retreating down the hallway with my clothes in her hands.

The four poured into the room, heading straight to my sleeping form lying on the bed. "She definitely looks better now that's she's not covered in sand." Hakkai noticed.

"But when did she get wings?" Goku brought up again.

"Maybe she visited some world and was cursed with them." Hakkai laughed.

"Doesn't look like much of a curse…" Gojyo murmured, touching one lightly. "Hey, what's this?" He bent closer to me and reached for the silver locket around my neck.

"You don't remember?" Hakkai asked. "She showed us the first time we met. It holds picture of her family."

Oh yeah…" He said, releasing it. "Man, she's really out cold."

"Don't get any ideas." Sanzo muttered, shooting him a glare.

"Hey, it's not as fun when they're passed out." Gojyo smirked.

"Good, then you'll be leaving her alone tonight!" Hakkai cried cheerfully. "Except, there were four beds and now we're down to three. Who doesn't get one?"

"She refused it last time." Goku recalled.

"But she looks so comfortable now. Do you really want to force her to sleep on the floor?" Hakkai asked.

"No…"

"Let's play for it." Sanzo said, holding a pack of cards. Everyone quickly agreed and soon it was decided: Gojyo lost his shot at a bed.

"You didn't throw your games on purpose, did you Gojyo?" Hakkai asked.

"What? I never lose on purpose!" Gojyo shouted grumpily.

"Alright…" Hakkai sighed as he placed the sheets over me and then got into his own bed. Sanzo and Goku were already in there's. Gojyo was forced to settle down as comfortably as possible on the hard floor. He ended up leaning against the wall at the foot of my bed.

I awoke early the next morning, yawning sleepily at first and then snapping wide awake as I recalled passing out in the bar. _Where am I now?_ I thought, looking around wildly. First thing I noticed was that I was no longer dirty or wearing the right clothes. Then I saw the guys all around and the top of Gojyo's head over the footboard on my bed. _What happened?_ I paused. _Why does my hair smell good?_

I sat up jumping as a voice sounded out. "Good morning." I looked across the room and saw Hakkai was now sitting up as well and smiling towards me. "Did you sleep well?"

I nodded wordlessly. "What happened after I…?"

"I carried you back and some girl cleaned you up. She's supposed to bring back your clothes sometime today." Gojyo replied with a smirk.

As if in reply, a knock sounded on the door. Hakkai got up to open it and a girl handed him a bundle of clothes and then left again after he thanked her. He crossed over to me and handed it all over. "Thanks…" He showed me to the bathroom and I went in to change. I slipped out of the robe, tied on the backless blue shirt, and slipped on the almost knee length black skirt before returning to the room with the four men. "This feels better…" I said with a small laugh.

"Why didn't you wear more stuff like that before?" Gojyo asked.

"I didn't have a choice this time." I replied, blushing. "These were the only clothes I was given."

"Where did you get those wings?" Goku asked, coming over to us. Sanzo was watching from his bed, still seemingly half asleep.

"In a tournament for demons I fought in the last round. My opponent threw some gas at me and when I breathed it in, I got these wings." They were tucked in against my back, since we were inside, but still were very noticeable.

"But wouldn't that help you? Why would your opponent do that?" Hakkai asked.

"He didn't know what it would do. He was kind of conducting an experiment in the middle of the match." I sighed.

"Did you win though?" Gojyo asked.

"Yeah, I actually killed him… but I brought him back to life again."

"What? How'd you do that?" Goku cried out.

"With my sword…" I murmured, pointing to it as it lay against the wall beside Akumei. "We're friends now since he felt guilty. When he was revived, he was entirely healed but I was beat up almost to the point of death. He stayed with me until I grew better." I stared at the floor nervously during the silence that followed.

"I'm hungry." Goku finally declared.

"We'll eat later." Sanzo muttered.

"Can I have another picture of all of us?" I asked suddenly. They agreed and I snapped it quickly before putting away the camera again. "Thanks." I grinned. In the next instant, I was leaning forward with my head almost touching the ground as I clutched it tightly.

_Are you ready?_

_Yes…_

That was all that was said. I looked back up at the guys. "I'm leaving again…" I murmured as I crawled towards Akumei. I strapped on the sword and camera bag, all the while worrying about that girl. _Why did she sound so faint? It's like she was about to pass out or something…_

"Are you alright?" Hakkai asked me.

I looked up, smiling to hide my concern. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm leaving now but who knows, I might come back again! I have so many times already…" I stood as I started to glow and wrapped Akumei's arm around my shoulder. "See you later…" I disappeared from the room with one last wave.

"Something was definitely troubling her…" Hakkai murmured.

Gojyo knelt down and picked up the single black feather that lay on the floor. "Yeah…"

"We cannot let her problems distract us. Let's go." Sanzo said, standing and going out the door.

"Food!" Goku cried as he, Hakkai, and Gojyo all followed.

* * *

"Sent…" The girl's voice was even quieter than before. 


	47. Zatch Bell

* * *

I appeared about three feet above the ground and hit with a soft thump, successfully keeping Akumei beside me and not on me. Looking around, I saw we were now surrounded by a large field of nothing but grass, a drastic change from the desert I had just left. Despite having just slept, I toppled over and fell back in the grass, giving a content sigh. Closing my eyes against the bright sun above, I just laid there, unmoving. 

The peaceful scene was interrupted as my ear twitched and I sniffed the air. Sitting bolt upright, I identified the scent as blood and stared over in the direction it was coming from. Two boys, one around my age and the other just a young kid, were staggering towards me. It seemed they had not noticed me yet so I called out to them, waving a hand. "Hey, are you two alright?"

They froze and I had to listen hard to catch their whispers. "Oh no, it's another one." The older boy groaned. He was taller than me by several inches with dark brown hair and golden eyes, yet he looked a couple years younger.

"Don't worry Kiyo, we can take her!" The kid said, thrusting a fist into the air and wincing as he did so. His blonde hair was messy and full of dirt and his wide orange eyes glared at me with determination.

"What are you talking about Zatch? That last fight has drained us both!" The boy, Kiyo, shouted.

"Another one?" I echoed, making them both jump as they realized I had approached. "Take her? What are you two talking about?"

"Don't play dumb! We know you're just trying to catch us off guard!" Kiyo turned to the boy again. "Zatch…?"

"Ready when you are, Kiyo." Zatch nodded, facing me.

Each of their faces had suddenly intensified and I took a nervous step back, unsure of what they were about to do. I watched as Kiyo threw open the red book he was holding, placed a finger on the page, and shouted, "Zakare!"

"Ah-!" I cried out in surprise as a bolt of what appeared to be lightening shot from Zatch's open mouth and came whizzing towards me. I crossed my arms over my head and the green shield shot up as a wall, protecting me and the unconscious Akumei that lay several feet behind me. "What do you think you're doing?" I screamed at the pair as they stared back, gaping.

"I didn't… hear a spell being cast…" Kiyo murmured in shock. He recovered and questioned me. "Hey, how did you do that without a spell? And is that your master behind you? How did you do that without him? Where's your spell book?"

"W-what?" I stammered. "My master? I don't have a master! And I don't need a spell to be read in order for me to make a shield!"

"Then what kind of mamodo are you?" Kiyo demanded.

"I'm not a mamodo!" I yelled angrily. "And you still haven't apologized for attacking me when I was trying to offer you help!"

"W-we're sorry!" He cried, taking a step back from my now red eyes. "We just came from a battle that we narrowly escaped from and thought you were going to try to beat us while we were weak!"

I closed my eyes, calming a bit. "Well, come over here and tell me more of what you're talking about while I try to heal you."

"O-ok…" Kiyo said warily as he and Zatch joined me, sitting beside Akumei in the grass.

"Now…" I started, face turning red as Kiyo stripped off his shirt so I could begin looking over his wounds. "…tell me what exactly a mamodo is, why you thought I was one, and why you were fighting out here. It seems too peaceful a place to battle… Oh, and explain about the spells too."

Kiyo gave me a strange looked, realized I wasn't trying to kill him, sighed, and started talking. "Zatch here is a mamodo." He indicated the little blonde boy who was trying to pounce on my swishing tail and then continued. "They came from another world and found a partner and that person is the only one that can read the spells from their personal spell book." Here he paused to hold up the thick read book he had in his lap.

"What do you mean? Is it in some strange language or something?" I asked, moving my glowing hands to a particularly large bruise on his shoulder.

"Yes, actually…" He opened it to reveal strange markings that meant absolutely nothing to me. "Each of these is a spell. As we train and work together, I am able to read more of this book and each time, we learn a new spell for Zatch to use. We were fighting because it is all a big contest to decide the king of the mamodo's. Last one standing wins. When their book is destroyed, that mamodo is sent back to its world, losing its chance at becoming king."

"And you thought I was one because…?"

"Ears, tail, wings, markings, sword… That enough reasons?"

"Oh…" I said with a nervous laugh. "Right…" I grabbed my camera bag and pulled out my camera. "Well in any case, can I have a picture of myself with you two?" I had finished healing them both and had somewhat gained their trust.

"If you explain about yourself afterwards…" Kiyo murmured.

It was agreed and I snapped the picture before telling my own story. "Well, I'm a wolf demon, with part dog demon and human in me as well, and I was attacked from behind and sent from my home world. Now to get back, I keep being sent to random ones until I will finally end up back at mine. I hope that it will be soon. It seems to be taking rather long…"

Kiyo stared at me and then turned to Akumei. "And who's he?"

"That's Akumei! He came with me to help. When you are transported, it takes some energy from you. Instead, he is offering twice as much so I don't have to give up any at all. I'd rather him be awake to keep me company but he won't be talked out of it. I think he has only woken up one or two times since it began though, so I haven't really had much of a chance to talk to him about it." Upon finishing, both Zatch and Kiyo continued staring at me. "What?" I frowned.

"It's nothing." Kiyo replied quickly, looking away.

I glared at him until I felt my ear twitch. I turned and my eyes widened as I saw a young man with black hair pulled into a ponytail holding a pale blue book like Kiyo's red one. There was a small boy standing with him, obviously not human, with long pointed ears and pale blue skin.The man smirked at me and then opened his mouth. "Zakare." He said.

The boy held out his hand and an enormous burst of water leapt from his palm. I yelped and threw out my hands. A green bubble appeared around myself, Akumei, Kiyo, and Zatch. We stared as the wave hit and entirely consumed us, fading a while after. I sighed in relief and glared out as the man and boy approached. "What's your problem?" I screamed.

He blinked several times. "How'd you do that? I heard no spells being cast..."

"I don't need a stupid spell book!" I snarled, causing him to fall back a few steps.

"Don't lie to me!" He yelled back, recovering. "Your master there is only _pretending_ to be asleep, isn't he?"

I growled deeply. "He is _not_ my master!" I yelled as I dropped the shield, holding both palms towards him, and blasting a jet of green energy.

"Muyo!" He screeched and the little blue skinned boy leapt in front of my blast, getting hit full force and defending the man.

I gasped in shock and started towards him. "Hey, are you alright?"

The man smirked as the kid stumbled to his feet and faced me. "Zarok."

The kid held up both hands towards me now and I thought I saw sadness in his eyes before they glazed over blue. "What...?" I whispered, gasping as crystal shards shot from his palms. I placed my hands over my head and gave a silent scream as they entered my skin, errupting out the other side, piercing my back, arms, legs, and wings. I hit the ground and coughed up blood, clutching my stomach and arms.

"Kira!" Kiyo shouted, scrambling to his feet and running towards me, stumbling on the way, still weak from the newly healed wounds.

"S-stay back." I stammered, coughing again. "You'll just get h-hurt." He began to protest but saw my face, eyes glowing red and narrowed, as my hands began to glow. I healed my stomach first but when the man saw what I was doing, he shouted again, "Zakare!"

I held my breath just as the wave of water washed over me and stayed, trapping me inside. I shut my eyes tightly and attempted to swim upwards, but was dragged quickly back, getting tossed around like a helpless rag doll. I saw the water around me swirling red with bloodand my eyes opened wide.

"What is... that?" The man wondered aloud as he peered into the water at two glowing red lights. He threw his hands over his face as the water burst, spraying everywhere. Right in the middle of where it had been, I sat on my knees, coughing it up in great mouthfuls. I turned my head and growled at him, eyes a piercing red. Without warning, I sprang towards him, using my wings for a quick boost of speed. "Muyo!" He screamed desperately and the little boy jumped in front of him again. I grabbed him by the front of the shirt and pushed him aside, slamming a fist into the side of the man's face. He fell over, skidding along the ground.

Kiyo stared open mouthed. "I'm glad we didn't get her that angry..." He murmured and Zatch nodded.

The man raised his head weakly as I approached him. "Z-zarok...!"

I didn't even turn to look as the little boy pierced me with ice crystal again. I staggered slightly and then fell to my knees, raising a hand to the man. "Muyo!" He screeched again. I held another hand towards the boy, trapping him in a green bubble. The man cowared back into the ground and screamed as a green blast shot from my hand towards him. He held the book desperately in front of himself and as the energy collided, it was knocked from his hands. He was struck almost full force in the stomach and wasn't even able to utter a sound before he passed out.

I crawled over to the boy as I let the bubble disappear. "H-hey, are you alright?"

He stared at me incredulously and then nodded. "Why aren't you... angry at me?" His voice was faint, almost a whisper.

I shook my head and managed a smile. "I know it wasn't your fault. He was controlling you, right?" He nodded again, smiling back as he began to fade. My eyes widened. "W-what's happening?" He pointed to his book and I gasped. My blast had caught it on fire and now a blue flame was slowly consuming it. I made to go attempt putting it out, but Muyo grabbed my shirt to keep me still.

"I don't mind." He whispered. "I'm returning home, away from him." He indicated the man who was still unconscious. "I wish some one like you had been my master..."

"W-wait!" I stammered as I grabbed his hand.

He smiled again. "Thank you..." Then he disappeared, his hand fading from my own.

"Wait!" I cried again, feeling tears gathering in my eyes despite myself. I turned to Kiyo and Zatch who had come up behind me. "I-I didn't mean to!"

Kiyo nodded. "We know..."

"And he was happier this way!" Zatch added.

"You freed him." Kiyo went on.

"I... guess you're right..." I murmured as I wiped the tears from my eyes. I coughed agian, wincing as blood ran down my chin and then sat down to heal myself. About half an hour later, I was on the ground and breathing heavily, every wound healed except a small one in my hand. Zatch was sitting beside me, playing with my tail.

"Are you alright now?" Kiyo asked. He and Zatch had stuck around to make sure I'd be ok.

I gave him a weary smile. "Yeah..."

"You're all bloody."

I jumped and sat up, looking to my side to see Akumei sitting up, holding his head. "Yeah, I was just attacked again."

He looked at me sadly and then ran a hand over my body. Everywhere his hand passed, the blood would disappear the the clothes would mend. "There you go." He said, yawning.

"Thanks." I sighed as he laid back down and fell asleep again and turned to Kiyo and Zatch. "I don't know how he manages to sleep so much..."

They just laughed, freezing as I froze and bowed my head, grasping it with both hands.

"Hey, are you alright?" Kiyo asked in alarm and Zatch stopped jumping on my tail to stare instead.

I shook my head and leaned away from him so he stopped.

_K-Kira…?_

_Yes, what's wrong? I can barely hear you!_

_Ok, s-sending…_

_Hey! _I waited for the reply but received none. _Hey!_ I tried again but still no answer. "Hey!" I screamed it now, accidentally aloud. Both Zatch and Kiyo stumbled back in surprise as they head been leaning close to try and figure out what I was doing.

"What happened?" Kiyo asked, recovering.

"The one that's transporting me… something's wrong with her. And, I don't want to sound selfish, but if she dies, then I won't ever be able to make it home!" I cried out in dismay.

"Don't worry, you'll definitely make it." Zatch replied confidently. "And if she can't transport you, you can always fly there with those big wings!"

Despite my alarm, this got me to laugh and I tried to relax. "Alright Zatch…" I smiled, patting him on the head and pulling back sharply as I began to glow. I scooted over to Akumei, placed his arm over my shoulders, and looked back at the pair. "Well, maybe I'll see you again sometime." I smiled. "Bye!"

"Bye…" They said in union as I disappeared.

* * *

The young cat girl made an almost hissing sound as she attempted to say, "sent" and did not manage anymore than that before falling silent again. 

"Hmm…" Kyoshi murmured, going to her side. "Yes, she's definitely out cold.

"What does that mean will happen?" Hiei asked.

"Kira's transporting will be put temporarily on hold at least until she wakes up. However, I have no idea how long that will take. I told her to take it easy…"

"Damn it…" Hiei muttered under his breath, clenching his fist.

"What's wrong? Do you miss her?" Kyoshi smirked.

"Don't push your luck." Hiei hissed. "I can only hold myself back for so long…" Kyoshi took one look at his face and retreated back to work on his strange creation.


	48. Note to Readers :plus: PoT Revisited

**Authors note**: Hey guys! Remember me? I hope so.. I'm so sorry for the lack of updates! I've started school again and I've been busy with homework and projects. The next chapter is really long so it's taking a while. Don't worry though! Stick with me and I'll try to get it done as soon as I can. Well, I'm off to read 100 pages of a book by tomorrow! xP

So many comments from **Maki Totakiyami**. I'm in shock! Thank you!

**Edit**-You're replies to this chapter made me feel guilty.I also made an edit to the Zatch Bell chapter. I added a bit too it because I realized how boring it was.  
And now... on with the story!

* * *

**Things to know**: **Eiji** is Kikumaru's first name; **Viper** is Kaidoh's nickname since he uses a shot called the Snake; a **southpaw** is a left-handed player; Kikumaru, Momo, Fuji, Inui, Kawamura, Oishi, Echizen, and Kaidoh are all **regulars** in their tennis club. Everyone else is a non-regular player and don't participate in tournaments; Kikumaru has lots of nicknames for Echizen, including **kiddo** and **chibi**; **Ryoma** is Echizen's first name; when they say "**Sensei**" (teacher) they're referring to their coach; "**Mada Mada Dane**" means in English "You still have lots more to work on"; "**Desu**" is used to indicate politeness but excessive use is strange; "**Oji**" means old man.

* * *

"Ow!" I shouted as I landed on my back on what felt like hard pavement. Then the wind was knocked out of me as Akumei slammed down into my stomach. After a moment, I pushed him off and looked around. I was in the middle of a road and surrounded by buildings. It was a wonder no one was staring at me… Then I looked over and noticed a group of four boys just a couple years younger than me standing on the sidewalk nearby. All of their mouths were hanging open but then one leapt over to me. "Hey, Kira!" 

I blinked a few times as he helped me get out of the road. "Oh, Kikumaru!" I grinned, as I realized who he was. "Long time no see!" Then I realized the others standing around were Oishi, Inui, and Kawamura. I raised a hand in greeting.

"What… are you doing back here?" Inui asked.

"Are you alright?" Oishi added. "You hit the ground pretty hard just then."

"I'm fine." I replied. "And I get transported to worlds at random with no choice of where I end up, so I just kind of ended up here again. But what are you all doing just standing around here?"

"Echizen and Momo are in a love triangle and we're tracking them." Inui replied. "But Fuji just called and said it seemed like a love square. We're waiting for Kaidoh now."

"What? With Echizen?" I started. "That doesn't seem very likely… so, where are they?" I followed Inui's finger as he pointed up the stone stairs we were standing at the base of. "Oh, well I'm going to go see. Watch Akumei for me?" I ran up the stairs, still talking, tying Kaidoh's on bandana on the way.

"W-wait…!" Oishi called but I was already gone.

I appeared over the top step and saw nine people already there, spread out in two groups on a tennis court. I recognized two as Ibu and Kamio, and two more as Momo and Echizen. There was a younger girl in the middle of one of the groups and I listened in to find that her name was Ann. Fuji was just walking over to each group with someone following behind him and being completely ignored. One of the three guys I did not know was Fuji's younger brother, Yuuta. Another was Mizuki, the one following Fuji around. The last was Shinya, who said "dane" after everything he said.

They were too caught up in their various arguments to notice me as I stood watching, wings tucked in as tightly as possible and tail around my waist. I listened in to find that Yuuta and Ibu were fighting over who got to play against Echizen. Kamio and Momo were fighting over the girl Ann, with Momo saying it wasn't a date that they were on even though Ann insisted it was. Mizuki was trying to get Fuji to notice him so they could play a match, but Fuji kept walking right past him. Shinya was attempting to ask Ann on a date but both Momo and Kamio screamed each time he spoke. I watched and saw them all gather around and pull strings to decide who would play who. It resulted in Ibu and Echizen on a team against Momo and Kamio. The others sat on the courtside benches while Mizuki acted as ref.

I inched a bit closer as the match started. Echizen and Ibu started off very well because of Momo and Kamio constantly fighting, but then Momo called Kamio over and whispered something to him. From then on, Momo would make signs behind his back and then they'd each move in different directions. This threw Echizen and Ibu behind so Momo and Kamio took the lead.

I moved a bit closer as they switched court sides and heard that Momo and Kamio only needed one more game to win. Then Echizen looked over at Fuji and Ann, who were sitting on a bench, laughing and talking, and had Ibu bend over so he could whisper something to him. As Momo was about to serve, Ibu asked, "So who's really Ann's boyfriend?"

"It's got to be Momo." Echizen replied, as Kamio shot Momo a glare. "He said it himself!" He added as he returned Momo's serve. Kamio missed it out of shock and fell over. From then on Momo and Kamio fought and yelled about every little thing and Echizen and Ibu won in the end.

Suddenly Ann jumped up and ran off, saying she had to be somewhere, and Fuji said that she had a date with her brother. Kamio and Momo both collapsed in shock and then leaned against each other, back to back, tired from the match.

"Hey!" I called, walking up towards them.

"Oh Kira! What are you doing here?" Momo called, still sitting.

I shrugged, grinning. "I'm not really sure."

"Well welcome back." Fuji smiled.

"It's you!" Kamio shouted, pointing at me.

"Yes, yes it is…" I replied.

"Oh!" Shinya leapt to his feet. "You're cute too, dane! Will you go on a date with me, dane?"

"No, that's ok…" I scratched the back of my head nervously, turning as Oishi, Inui, Kikumaru, and Kawamura came walking up. "H-hey!" I stammered. "You didn't leave Akumei alone, did you?"

"Umm…" Kikumaru started, but I dashed past him and back down the stairs before anymore could be said.

"Who was that?" Yuuta asked.

"A demon from another world." Fuji replied.

"We want to know seriously…" Mizuki muttered.

"I was being serious. Why else would she have wings, a tail, and wolf ears? She was wearing Kaidoh's bandana to cover them up." Fuji pointed out. Nobody found a reply to that.

I jumped down the stairs, several at a time, almost slamming into the person at the base. "Kaidoh!" I yelped, narrowing avoiding him. "What are you doing?"

"K-Kira?" He stammered. "Inui asked me to meet him here. What are you doing here?"

"Well, he's up there with everyone else if you want to see him." I replied as I found Akumei still leaning against the wall. I slung his arm around my shoulder and hoisted him to his feet. "And I told you I'm transported between worlds at random. I just happened to end up here again."

"Who's up there? What are they doing?"

"Umm… Oishi, Inui, Kikumaru, Kawamura, Echizen, Momo, Kamio, Ibu, Fuji, Yuuta, Shinya, Mizuki… Most were just there to play tennis but Inui, Oishi, Kikumaru, and Kawamura thought that Echizen and Momo were a part of a love triangle with a girl named Ann who had left already."

"Oh… Then I no longer have a reason to see him." Kaidoh murmured as he started walking.

"Ok…" I said in almost a whisper as I watched him go and then I lugged Akumei up the stairs with me to rejoin the others.

"Kira!" Kamio shouted immediately. "I've been practicing and I want a rematch!"

"Are you sure? I've had to do a lot of running around lately…" I replied, thinking of breaking out of that building called Holy where I had been locked up. "And I was carrying Akumei as I ran…" I added as I set Akumei down leaning against a bench and placed my sword and camera beside him.

"Are you really a demon, dane?" Shinya blurted out, jumping in front of Kamio as he was coming towards me.

"A wolf demon." I grinned, showing my fangs. "Now excuse me…" I walked past him to Kamio before he got pissed enough to start another fight. "Are you recovered from your match? I won't go easy on you at all." He nodded so I went on. "Where are we racing to?"

"Ten laps around all of these courts." He replied. "And I won't need you to go easy one me." I looked around to see what he meant. We were standing on two courts but on the other side of a small building were two more courts. We were supposed to run around all four. "First one finished wins."

"I'll keep track of Kira's laps." Mizuki offered, smiling towards me. I smiled nervously in return.

"And I'll count Kamio's." Ibu said.

"Wait a second!" I cried out suddenly. "I'm… in a skirt."

"Were you on a date too?" Momo asked, ducking away from Kamio's glare.

"Nope, I just ruined my other clothes and these were all that was given to me to replace them."

"Well, it's pretty long. Nothing should happen." Fuji said.

I sighed and shrugged, lining up beside Kamio. "Ready?" He asked and I nodded. "Go!"

We both took off, remaining even for a split second, before I pulled ahead. Less than a minute later Mizuki shouted, "One! I think…"

"What? There's no way!" Momo gasped.

"One…" Ibu murmured.

"Two!" Mizuki shouted. "I'm sure of it. I can barely see a blur go by but she's tapping me and whispering the number each time she passes."

"Are you sure?" Yuuta asked. "She's really fast…!"

"Three!" Mizuki shouted. "She seems to be getting faster as she progresses."

"Two…" Ibu murmured again.

"She's definitely faster than the last time she was here…" Inui pointed out. "But she could have just been holding back."

"It's amazing though!" Oishi cried. "If she played tennis, imagine how hard it would be to get the ball by her!"

"Four." Mizuki said.

"Three." Ibu continued.

"She could probably learn to play acrobatic tennis like Kikumaru." Echizen smirked.

"No way!" Kikumaru shouted.

"Five." Mizuki said.

A few more minutes passed and suddenly I appeared out of nowhere. Mizuki jumped, caught off guard and then said, "Ten."

There was a chorus of "wows" as I stood there, just the tiniest bit out of breath, waiting for Kamio to finish too.

A couple minutes later and he skidded to a stop, panting heavily and doubled over. "I still have a long way to go…"

"Don't worry about it!" I smiled. "It's just because I'm a demon and I've undergone special training! That really felt good though. I haven't gotten to run without being chased or holding something heavy in a long time!"

"Don't those wings slow you down, Kira-senpai?" Kawamura asked.

"Yes, I guess they do… and just Kira is fine." Breaking the long silence that followed these words, I turned towards Yuuta, Mizuki, and Shinya. "Can I have your pictures?" I asked, holding up my camera. After a very short explanation, the three agreed and stood with me while Momo snapped the picture. "Thanks!" I cried.

"It's growing late…" Oishi said. "We should all be heading home." He turned towards me as everyone prepared to leave. "Kira, do you have a place to stay?"

"Actually… no, but I'll manage."

"Are you sure…?" I nodded and he reluctantly left with the others.

I turned and sat down beside Akumei. "Well, where are we sleeping tonight? Oh, I know! Let's try that park where I fell my first time coming here." I hoisted him up again and made my way down the long stairs, heading towards the forested park. Finally I reached it, and went down the path, stopping somewhere towards the middle of the trees and then leaving the trail. I stopped once it was out of sight and leaned Akumei against a tree. Then I sat by another. Gradually I fell into sleep.

* * *

I awoke the next morning to the bright sun glaring down on me through the tree leaves. Hiding did no use so I finally forced myself to get up. "Man, it's another hot day…" I whimpered as I shielded my eyes and crawled towards Akumei. "I'm going on a walk. Don't go anywhere." I added with a sigh. 

Standing, I made my way back to the path and walked along it. I saw nothing but trees and ended up staring straight up at the sky as I walked. "Oh-!" I cried as I tripped over something. I looked down and saw it was someone's legs.

There was a boy with short, curly orange hair leaning against a tree and apparently asleep. My fall had disturbed him and he was now slowly blinking awake. He turned towards me as I sat up. "Oh, what are you doing?" He yawned.

"What am I doing?" I blinked. "I tripped over you sleeping in the middle of the path!"

"Oh, is that where I am?" He yawned again.

"Yes, and it's not a very good place to sleep." I muttered.

"Oh…" He sighed and finally opened one eye to look at me. "What?" He shouted in alarm.

"What?" I jumped in surprise.

"You have a tail! And wings! And you're wearing a sword! And… a camera!" He seemed perfectly awake now.

"Well, yeah…" I muttered, staring at the ground. "Ah-!" He pulled me to my feet and began circling me.

"What are you?"

"A demon…"

"You aren't going to kill me, are you?" He asked it in the same nonchalant way as if he were asking the time.

"Nope, but can I take your picture instead?"

"Oh sure." He replied without hesitation. I pulled out my camera and quickly took it.

"Thanks."

"No problem! By the way, my name's Jirou." He held out a hand.

"I'm Kira." I said, taking it.

"Wow, you have claws…!"

"Y-yeah…" I stammered.

He let me go and checked a watch on his wrist. "Oh man, I gotta go! I'll see you again, maybe!"

"K!" I called after him as he dashed off, laughing to myself as he disappeared from view. "So strange…" I spun on my heel and returned to Akumei. "Akumei, it's so boring! Please wake up!" I pleaded as I arrived on the scene, but he remained asleep and unmoving. I slumped against a tree and placed my head in my arms. Soon I was asleep again.

I jumped awake as I felt something grabbing hold of me and opened my eyes to see someone staring at me. He was holding my shoulders in his hands. "A-Akumei…?" I gasped after my eyes grew used to the dark.

"I'm… so glad we're both still alive… I'm sorry to have left you alone for so long!" He whispered. "It must have been so scary…"

"N-no! It wasn't at all! I met lots of people and-" I was cut off as Akumei placed a finger over my lips.

"No, I was, at times, aware of what was going on around me. I've been such a burden… Maybe I should have just stayed behind. I'm sure I could have done something to help that girl transport you."

"D-don't say that! Then I really would have been left all alone!" He smiled as I sat before him and pulled me into a long embrace. Before I could stop myself, the tears were flowing. "W-why am I crying?" I whimpered, face pressed to his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. You have been keeping everything locked inside again. It's good to let them out before they build up inside. You don't have to be ashamed of your tears."

I nodded, without lifting my head, and eventually cried myself back to sleep.

The sun was up when I blinked my eyes open again. I had fallen on my side and Akumei was sitting against the tree nearest mine. "Morning…" I yawned, rubbing my puffy eyes and sitting up.

"Good morning." He replied. He placed a hand quickly over his stomach but my ears caught the rumbling.

"Hungry?" I laughed. "Actually, I am too… Let's go wander around town! Except…" I glanced over my shoulder at the large, feathery black wings. "I think it's time I tried to hide these again."

"This is the first time I've really seen you with them." Akumei pointed out.

"But they're really hard to hide and I have a feeling that we'll be here for a while…" I sat on my knees and closed my eyes, clenching my fists by my sides. Akumei watched curiously as I bowed my head. I pictured the wings withdrawing clearly in my mind. I felt the feathers begin sliding painfully against my skin as it started working and bit my tongue to keep from crying out. Somehow, I kept the image in my head and as soon as the mental wings were entirely gone, I let out a short scream and collapsed forward onto the ground.

"Kira!" Akumei shouted as he came to my side and helped me sit up, noting the steady flow of blood going down my back. He placed a hand over the two deep slits in my back near the shoulder blades and they healed instantly. "Are you alright now?" He asked, wiping the blood from my back before it reached my clothes.

I unclenched my fists and sat up slowly. "Yes… I'm just not used to doing it yet… Thanks though."

"Hey, what's going on?" Someone shouted. I lifted my head and saw a very tall boy with short gray hair that was combed upwards. He saw me doubled over on the ground and instantly seized Akumei by the front of his robes. "What did you do?" He screamed.

"No, you don't understand!" I cried, jumping in between them.

The sudden move made me dizzy and I fell forward. The boy released Akumei and caught me instead. "What do you mean?" He asked.

I waited for a moment and then stood again. "He helped me. He hasn't done anything wrong."

"What were you two doing here in the woods, away from the path?"

"Sleeping… but not together!" I added hastily, face flushing red. "What were you doing?"

"I heard you scream." He muttered, scowling at me.

"Oh… Well, thanks…" I smiled. He turned to go but I caught his sleeve. "Hey, can I take your picture? And… what's your name?"

He glared at me for a minute and then sighed as he saw I wasn't afraid. "What are you?"

"A demon…" I said bluntly, holding up the camera. "So how about it?"

He paused and then said, "Fine… And it's Akutsu…"

"I'm Kira." I smiled as I stood beside him after showing Akumei how to use the camera. After it had been taken, I turned back to him. "Man, you make me feel really short…"

"That's because you are short." Akutsu replied.

"N-not very…!" I stammered.

"Whatever…" He grunted and turned back in the direction of the path. "See ya."

I watched him go and then turned back to Akumei. "Hey, you can make clothes, right?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm almost out of energy right now."

"Oh… Well you don't exactly fit in with those robes…"

"And you do?"

"Yes, I do! These are modern clothes! Perfectly normal to be seen on the street." I was still wearing the blue backless top and knee length black skirt that Emiko had given me.

"Ok, ok…!" Akumei laughed. "But we'll manage I think."

"Alright… Follow me." I murmured as we went the way Akutsu had gone and soon emerged from the trees. "This is so much better!" I cried.

"What is?" Akumei asked.

"Having you walking with me, instead of carrying you!" He grinned and patted me on the head as he continued past me. "Hey, don't treat me like a little kid!" I shouted, running beside him.

"But you are. At least compared to me."

"You're not that old…"

"In human terms, I'm in my mid twenties and therefore about ten years older than you."

"Wow, that many?" I gasped.

"Hey, that's not old!" He yelled.

"But you just basically said it was." I replied.

"…shut up." He muttered.

"Hey, that's not very mature!" I stuck out my tongue and he remained silent while we walked on. After a while, I paused, sniffing the air. "Wow… Something smells good!"

"What is it?" Akumei asked.

"Umm… A hamburger!" I cried happily. "I haven't had one of those in over a year! Oh… But I don't have any money…"

"Kira!"

I looked up as someone called my name. "Oh, hey Momo." I said, smiling again. "Hey Kikumaru."

"Hey…" Kikumaru began, circling behind me. "What happened to your wings?" He sounded really disappointed.

"I pulled them in. It's a lot easier to blend in this way. Though I do stick out rather well still…" I sighed.

"I thought it hurt to do that. Why would you bother if you're leaving in a couple days?" Momo asked.

"I think something happened to the person who's supposed to be transporting me. I've already been here three days. That's more than normal. I'm afraid I'll end up staying here for a while…"

"Well at least your boyfriend's awake." Momo offered.

"W-what?" I stammered. "Akumei's not my boyfriend!"

All three began laughing at me as I stood there turning red. "I know." Momo snickered. "I just wanted to see your reaction. It was better than I hoped."

"Shut up…" I muttered.

"Hey, do you want to go eat with us?" Kikumaru asked, after everyone had calmed.

"Yeah!" A split second later, my face had fallen again. "Except… We don't have any money…"

"No problem, I'll pay for it." Momo offered. Before I could argue, he had grabbed my hand and was pulling me towards the burger place. Kikumaru exchanged glances and quickly followed. I plopped down at a table and Akumei sat next to me as Momo and Kikumaru went to order food.

They returned, each baring a tray, and sat down across from us. Kikumaru had three meals on his but Momo had one plus nine extra burgers. Kikumaru handed Akumei and I each one from his while Momo began eating. "Do you always eat that many?" I gaped.

"Is there anything wrong with it?" Momo asked as he started his second. "I have to eat this many, otherwise it doesn't feel like I ate."

"Oh…" I shrugged as I took a bite of mine.

Soon Akumei and I had finished and Momo was eating his tenth burger when he turned to Kikumaru. "You're not eating?" He asked.

Kikumaru sighed and held his tray towards Momo. "Here you go, the eleventh."

"Thank you, I'll eat it!" Momo laughed as he took it. Kikumaru, Akumei, and I just smiled.

After he finished I asked, "So what are you two doing?"

"Oishi asked us all to meet him tonight." Momo replied.

"Do you want to come?" Kikumaru asked.

"Oh no, I can't invite myself to something!"

"But I'm inviting you…" Kikumaru pointed out.

I laughed. "Well yeah, but it's not the same. I'll see you tomorrow instead, ok?"

"Ok…" They replied as I got to my feet. Akumei stood as well and we both left.

We wandered through town, entering various stores to look around as we went. Akumei seemed very interested in taking in as much as he could about, as he called it, "this strange world". I just laughed and showed him around, even though this was my first time wandering aimlessly around Japan as well.

It was dark when we reached the outskirts of town and found ourselves at the base of a forest growing along the side of a rather small mountain. "Let's go!" I cried, and Akumei followed me as I started up it. After a while, the trees parted and I froze.

"What's wrong?" Akumei asked.

"There's a path…" I murmured. "We could have taken a path instead of fighting through the trees."

Akumei laughed as he walked and stood beside me in the middle of the small trail. "Don't worry. The other way was more fun, don't you agree?"

"I guess…" I smiled. "But since we're here, let's keep going along the path." Akumei nodded, still laughing, and followed. We reached the top and broke out of the trees. I took one look around and gasped in surprise, accidentally revealing I was there.

"Kira!" Kikumaru ran forward to me. "You decided to come? But how did you know we were here?"

"W-what?" I stammered. "I didn't know! We were just exploring the area…!"

"Well since you're here now, you can wait for the sunrise with us." Kikumaru grinned and he led me over to the others. Oishi, Tezuka, Kaidoh, Momo, Echizen, Inui, Kawamura, and Fuji were standing by a railing that kept you away from a drop off on the mountain. Spread out before us was the city.

"Oishi, there are so many clouds out. We won't be able to see the sunrise, right?" Kikumaru asked.

"That's not true!" Oishi cried, checking his watch. "Just five more minutes and it'll be dawn." Everyone waited in complete silence, staring over the cloud strewn city. Oishi constantly checked between his watch and the view. After several minutes, he hung his head in defeat.

Almost instantly, the clouds began to part and the sun fought through. "It's the sunrise, Oishi-senpai." Echizen murmured.

"Oishi." Kikumaru said, laying a hand on Oishi's shoulder.

"Look." Fuji added, standing on Oishi's other side. "The sunrise."

Oishi's face lit up as he repeated, "The sunrise."

"The sunrise!" Someone yelled. I noticed that almost everyone was smiling, even Kaidoh, and were each celebrating in their own ways. Fuji pulled out a camera and that reminded me to take my own pictures as well. Finally, he made everyone gather for a group shot. After some prodding, Akumei and I were pulled into it as well. Fuji set the timer on both his and my cameras and then ran, jumping into the picture at the last second.

After this, everyone prepared to leave. Oishi turned to me. "Kira, where are you staying while you're here?"

"Oh, I'm fine… Don't worry about it." I replied, masking my nervousness with a smile. After a pause, I added, "Am I allowed to come to your practices? To watch or something? I won't get in the way…"

"Of course that's fine." Oishi smiled. "We have one tomorrow morning. Maybe we'll see you there?"

"Maybe…" I grinned. "See ya!" I waved as they left and then turned to Akumei as he began to speak.

"So, where are we staying?"

I paused and stared around. "I guess… here…"

"The forest again…?" Akumei moaned.

"Do you have any better ideas?" I snapped as I headed for the cover of the trees. Akumei frowned and then followed me. We each sat at the base of a tree and soon were both asleep.

* * *

"Hurry, hurry!" I called, waving over my shoulder to him. 

"Where are we hurrying to?" Akumei asked.

"We're going to watch them practice." We were currently walking down the crowded sidewalk. Both Akumei and I were getting strange stares and trying to ignore them the best we could.

"That seems boring…" Akumei sighed.

"Well, do you have a better idea?" I frowned. "There's really nothing else to do!"

A slow smile spread across his face. "I can think of a few things…" He said, smirking at me.

I felt my face turning red. "Shut up!" I cried out in alarm as his arms wrapped around my waist and hoisted me over his shoulder. "H-hey!" I yelled. "Put me down!"

"Make me." He laughed, and began carrying me back towards the woods.

"Akumei…!" I whined. "You're supposed to be the older, more mature one!" We were getting three times the amount of stares this time and I was feeling nervous. I brought a hand to my head to make sure the bandana was still there. He just laughed and proceeded forward.

Finally, we arrived back at the woods and he set me down once we had entered deep within the trees to a slight clearing. "So, what are we doing?" I asked.

"Fighting." He grinned. "You're out of practice. I bet I could beat you right now."

"What?" I cried. Instead of answering, he closed both his eyes and seconds later, a shadow rose out of the ground beside him. It took the form of a human but remained all black, the only visible thing being glowing red eyes. "What's that?"

"You're opponent." With that, the shadow leapt at me, a sword appearing in its hand.

I leapt back, the tip of the blade grazing my shirt. "Damn it, Akumei, I'm wearing a skirt!" I screamed, drawing my sword and clashing it against the shadow's.

"That makes it more fun for me."

I glared at his response as the shadow and I sprang apart and then collided again. It kicked out, catching me off guard, and knocked my feet from under me. I fell over, rolling out of the way as his sword stuck in the ground where my head had been. I leapt to my feet and stabbed it through the middle as it tried to pull the sword from the dirt. I turned angrily to Akumei. "It's trying to kill me!"

"Well you are fighting."

"If I die, then you're stuck here, you know."

"I know. That's why if you do die, I won't let you stay that way."

"What? You can revive people?"

He nodded. "Only if I really want to. In your case, I would, so feel free to go all out."

"But there wasn't a need to!"

"Now there will be." He closed his eyes again and this time not one, but four shadows sprang up.

"Akumei!" I shrieked as all charged me at the same time, each from a different direction. I jumped in the air and leapt over their head, landing just behind one of them. I stabbed it through the stomach and it disappeared. The other three were on me now. I blocked one's attack with my sword and blocked the other's with a sword made of my spirit energy. The last swung at me from behind but an energy shield sprang up and stopped its shadow sword. Akumei smiled his approval as I kicked one in the stomach and ducked out of the way as the ones in front and behind me swung and missed, killing each other instead. They disappeared and I stabbed through the last, sending him away too. "Are we done…?" A sword swinging at my head answered me but I held up a hand and sent a green blast at the owner's instead. "I said, are we done?" I repeated in annoyance.

"No, this is fun." Akumei grinned. "Let's make it harder…"

This time an exact copy of himself rose from the ground. I gaped for a moment, knocked free of my trance as the Akumei copy attacked. I jumped back as he pulled the hidden sword from his robes and swung at me. We clashed swords, sprang apart, and met again many times but neither of use could over power the other. I gritted my teeth, holding my sword in both hands as I pushed against his. It probably looked funny. His little, thin sword was equal with my gigantic one. My eyes narrowed at the thought. "This is stupid!" I screamed and slammed forward, knocked Akumei's sword aside. He blinked in surprise as I pierced his stomach, and then disappeared.

The real Akumei laughed. "So it seems I'd lose to you in a power match. But what if I used my powers?"

"Powers?" I asked, eyes still narrowed. He nodded and made another Akumei clone. This one approached me without drawing a sword. I held mine at the ready and glared at it. I blinked and in his place hovered a small black bird. I ducked as it soared over my head and then found strong arms around me. I struggled as my own were pinned by my sides.

I shivered as the Akumei copy whispered in my ear. "Had you forgotten when we first met…?"

"I've gotten stronger since then!" I shouted, breaking free of his grasp and spinning around to face him. Before I could move further, four shimmering ropes sprang up and wrapped around my ankles and wrists. I gritted my teeth as I was dragged down.

Once I was on my knees with my fists planted on the ground, Akumei's copy approached. He crouched in front of me and smirked. "My powers surpass your strength."

"You don't know that…" I growled, glaring at him.

"Oh? It seems pretty obvious to me."

"Then I guess I'll… get… serious…!" I shouted, straining against the ropes. Akumei backed from me in surprise as I began to get to my feet. There was a soft tearing sound and then all at once, the ropes snapped and faded.

Akumei winced as if he had been struck. "H-how…?" He stammered.

I was the one smirking now. "My strength surpasses your powers." I swung with both hands, bringing my sword sideways and all the way through his side. His eyes went wide as his top half separated from the bottom and he disappeared. I turned to glare at the real Akumei.

He too was staring wide eyed at me. "I… guess I was wrong." He murmured.

"Yes, you were. Now send something else at me!"

"What? I thought you didn't like this."

"Well, you've gotten me in the mood for it now." I snapped. "So come on!" With a hesitant nod, Akumei created more shadow things for me to fight. My eyes began to glow red as I got more into the fight. It carried on well into the night when I finally destroyed the last one and collapsed against a tree. "I'm done…" I panted.

"Good…" Akumei said, also breathing heavily. Creating these opponents for me took a lot of his energy. The more powerful his creation, the more it drained him. "Let's sleep now." I nodded and slid down the tree until I was sitting. Without a word and almost instantly, I drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

I woke up early the next morning and glanced over at Akumei. He was still sleeping soundly. I climbed to my feet, leaving my sword beside him but taking my camera with me as I started towards the school where the guys practiced, Seigaku. Only after I was already there, did I begin wondering how they'd react to seeing me still in the same clothes as when I arrived. At least I had kept them from being torn during the matches with Akumei. "Oh well…" I murmured as I followed the sound of tennis balls and people shouting. 

Walking along a stone path, I finally arrived at the courts. There were three in the same fence, all beside each other in a row. On them was the school's entire tennis club. Freshmen were running around gathering the balls as the upper classman practiced. I caught site of Momo as he slammed the ball downwards, scaring his opponent half to death. Beside him, Kaidoh performed a strange shot that went out of bounds, around the pole, before hitting in bounds once more. Echizen was amazingly into it as well. I stood off to the side watching until it ended and then paused before heading over. _Maybe I shouldn't bother them today…_ I thought to myself. They all seemed sort of worked up about something.

"Hey, Kira!" I flinched as my name was called out and turned to see Oishi waving me over. I smiled and went to stand before him. "I didn't see you yesterday."

"Yeah, I couldn't come. Akumei kept me busy…" I laughed, rubbing the back of my head. "What's everyone so worked up over today?"

"Tomorrow we continue the Kantou regional tournament." Oishi explained.

"Oh, can I come watch?" I asked.

"Of course! The more supporters, the better." Oishi smiled, turning as Fuji walked up beside him.

I bowed my head as Fuji looked me over. "Kira, are those the same clothes you were wearing when you came here?" I looked at him and nodded hesitantly.

"W-what?" Oishi stammered. "You don't have a change of clothes?"

"I told you I was sent from my world by surprise. I didn't have time to pack or anything." I frowned.

"Where are you staying?" Oishi looked really worried now.

I couldn't keep myself from answering. "…The woods."

"What?" He exclaimed. "You told me you had a place to stay!"

"It's fine, I'm ok!" I replied, guilty faced.

"Well we have to find somewhere for you. You could come stay with me if you need to."

"No I can't! It would be too much trouble for you! Plus, Akumei would have to come too then and I don't want to bother you like that…"

Oishi frowned at me and then sighed, turning towards the small building beside the courts. "At least stay there. You'll have a roof over your head and that's the important thing."

"B-but don't you guys use that?" I stammered.

"Yes, but only to keep our things during practice, so it will be alright for you to stay there while you're here." Oishi smiled.

"I-I…!" I stopped and stared at the ground. "Ok, thank you…"

Oishi put a hand on my shoulder and turned to the boys all packing their tennis equipment away. "Everyone!" He announced, getting their attention. "This is Kira. She's going to be staying there…" He pointed at the building. "…so please don't be alarmed if she and another are in there while you are. She won't bother you and you shouldn't bother her." My face turned bright red as I felt everyone's gaze on me. They were all whispering in surprise, some recognizing me from the last time I was here. Oishi turned back towards me. "Alright, now you just need some clothes."

"My older sister might have some she no longer wears." Fuji said.

"No, you've already done enough!" I cried, waving my arms. "I don't want to trouble you further! I can get my own clothes."

"It's no trouble, but if you're sure…" Fuji shrugged. "Then I'd better be going. I'll see you tomorrow Oishi, Kira." He smiled and headed off.

"Oh, that's right." Oishi turned towards me again. "Do you know where the tennis courts are?"

"I'm sure I'll be able to find them." I nodded. "Oh, is it alright if I ask where Tezuka is?"

Oishi's face darkened slightly and he frowned. "Tezuka injured his shoulder and went to Germany to have it healed."

"O-oh…" I stammered in surprise, quickly recovering. "Well I'm sure you'll be able to win anyway!"

Oishi's smile returned. "Yeah." He nodded.

Slowly we said our goodbyes and I wandered around through town, knowing I would eventually make it back to Akumei. "Ah-!" I cried out as something slammed me in the back. I fell forward onto my hands and knees, skinning them across the sidewalk. In front of me, a man was staring horrorstruck and backing away slowly. I glanced over my shoulder, leaping out of the way and pulling the man with me as a sword's blade sunk in deep where I had just been. I turned to face the giant shadow that was glaring at me with its glowing red eyes as the man ran for it. Reaching for my sword, I gasped in surprise as I realized it wasn't there. _Damn it…_ I growled. _Akumei, not in the open!_ I jumped up as the sword swung at my waist, placing a hand on the flat of the blade and pushing myself into the air towards the shadow's head. My palm found the shadow's forehead and a green blast shot out and straight through it. The shadow disappeared and I landed lightly on the ground. I glanced up and saw everyone in sight staring at me and of course, Kikumaru was there.

"Wow…!" He cried, running to my side. "You sure showed that thing whose boss!" He paused. "What was that thing?"

I sighed, pulling him with me as I quickly began to leave. I wasn't sure of what would happen after all those people who saw me recovered from their shock. "Akumei made it. He was making them fight me yesterday. That's why I couldn't come watch you guys practice."

"Wow…!" He repeated in amazement. "But where's your sword? It would have looked so much cooler with your sword."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I left it with Akumei. You kind of get a lot of strange looks when carrying a sword around."

He grinned and nodded. "So, you're coming to our match tomorrow?"

"Yep, so win ok?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "I'll see you then!"

I waved after him as he ran off, next proceeding directly to the woods. I stopped in the clearing to find my sword sitting there, but no sign of Akumei. "Akumei!" I screamed. "Get out here!"

I stiffened as someone grabbed me around the waist. "Why?"

I pulled free, spun around, and punched him soundly in the face, all in one fluid motion. He toppled backwards, hitting a tree. "For sending that thing after me while I was in the middle of town! You almost killed someone!"

"I knew you wouldn't let it happen…" He whined, rubbing his jaw. "And you didn't have to hit me so hard!"

"Yes, I did. I have only been hitting your copies lately. It's about time you got some of what they've been feeling." I frowned.

He pouted at me. "Fine…" He sighed as I sat down beside him.

"Tomorrow we're going to watch them all play in a tournament and you're not going to keep me from going this time."

"Are you sure…?" He asked, a mischievous look in his eyes.

I thwacked him lightly on the head. "Yes, I'm sure." I looked up at him suddenly. "Can you make me new clothes now?" I asked.

"Hmm… Lets see." He murmured, as if deep in thought. He waved his hand in front of me and my clothes changed to a black t-shirt and jean shorts with Kaidoh's bandana still firmly placed on my head. The old shirt and skirt lay at my feet.

"Yay, thank you!" I grinned. "What about for yourself? You don't exactly blend in here."

He sighed. "Fine…" Then he waved a hand in front of himself as well. Instead of his robes, he was now in a white sleeveless shirt and jean pants.

"Cool." I smiled, looking up to see it already dark. I remembered Oishi telling me to sleep in that building but ignored it. _One more night won't hurt._ I frowned. "Goodnight Akumei…"

"Night." He replied, leaning back.

* * *

"If you don't want to come, you don't have to!" I called. We were on our way to the tennis courts. I was having somewhat of a hard time picking out which scents to follow that would lead me there. The people staring at me were just adding to my annoyance. "Maybe I should have asked them to show me…" I murmured and then shook my head. "No, I can find it!" I looked over my shoulder again at Akumei who was strolling casually behind me. 

"Alright, alright…" He muttered speeding up and falling into step beside me.

My head shot up as I caught a strong and familiar scent. "Echizen…?" I murmured and saw him standing at the end of the sidewalk ahead of me. Across the street sat the tennis courts I had been searching for. "I found it Akumei!" I cried, pausing just behind Echizen as a bus with the word "Johsei" pulled up on the other side of the street.

Immediately a large group of girls in school uniforms began frantically shouting in high pitched voices as they swarmed it. "Here they are, here they are!" I clamped my hands on my head over my ears, trying to drown out their shrieking. Akumei laughed but I glared at him and he quickly shut his mouth again. The screaming doubled as a boy stepped from the bus. He had hair that flipped up oddly and a white hat on top of his head that was turned sideways. They circled him. "Wakato, please win today no matter what!"

"Of course!" He said cockily waving his hand and obviously enjoying the attention. I glared at him now too as the girls screaming pierced harshly through my overly sensitive ears. The rest of the team and their coach, a pretty woman with long brown hair, were watching. Then I noticed Echizen walking past. I hadn't even noticed him leaving!

The woman turned towards him. "You're Echizen, right?" The entire team tensed and stared at him as he froze and turned to face her. "Let's do our best today." She continued. "I'm Hanamura, Jyousei Shounan Tennis Club's coach. I'm glad to have met you."

"Thanks." Echizen said.

"You're great material." She went on happily. "I've been watching you all along. You would be even better if you came to us. I'd be able to complete you as the best masterpiece ever. It doesn't matter if you come after the Kantou Regionals. Please consider it."

"No way." Echizen replied. "To complete… That would mean that's the end, right?" Then he turned to leave. Hanamura and her team simply watched him leave, most of the team glaring.

Hesitantly I crossed the street with Akumei trailing behind. I smiled faintly at them as I passed and skipped up the stone steps three at a time, aware of them watching me as I went. I reached the Seigaku team in time to see them all put their hands on each other's and cheer loudly. "Then everyone, leave cheering to me." Kawamura said. He was the substitute player.

Momo offered him his racket anyway. "Here."

Kawamura tried to push it away but Momo finally got him to accept. As soon as he had grabbed it, Kawamura screamed out as if a switch had been hit. "Now, all you guys! Listen to me! If you win it's all you can eat sushi, if you lose you win one year of wasabi sushi, ok? Seigaku, victory!"

Everyone on the team's heads popped up. "All you can eat sushi?"

Then a freshman girl, Tomo, who was wearing a yellow shirt with a large blue "S" on it, a short blue and yellow skirt, and holding pink pom-poms ran in front of the team cheering loudly. The girl standing beside me, Sakuno, who was dressed to match, blushed badly. "T-Tomo…" She stammered.

"Kira, you made it!" Momo greeted me.

"Yep." I winced as a new wave of shrieks erupted from the girls surrounding Wakato. He was standing by the courts having his picture taken with them.

"What's wrong?" Momo asked, following my gaze. "Oh… it's your ears, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, they pick up on things really well so their screaming is killing me."

Three freshman boys, each holding two pom-poms in embarrassment turned towards the noise as well. "Who's that?" One of them asked.

"Jyousei Shounan's regular…" Inui said.

"Seems like an idol…" Sakuno breathed.

"He's the one with that exceptional interview, huh?" Inui added. Wakato had been interviewed for a tennis magazine and had said that Seigaku must be a school full of clowns. He had really teased Kaidoh's special move.

Kaidoh frowned. "That's him, huh?"

The freshmen frowned and one of them said, "They look really strong." He was referring to the other team.

"Don't judge by looks alone." Momo advised. "But on the other hand, that woman is hot!"

"That's their coach." Inui replied.

"But she's strange." Echizen added. "She was hitting on me earlier…"

Three freshman, Kawamura, Kikumaru, and Momo all gathered around him and shouted simultaneously. "Eh…?"

"Jyousei Shounan Middle School vs. Seishun Gakuen will start now." A woman announced over a loudspeaker. "The first match is doubles two. Please come forth."

Momo and Inui stepped out onto the courts as two boys came from the other team. They stood on opposite sides of the net. "Their pair of players are twins, huh?" Momo asked. One of the boys, Kouhei, had his hair in a ponytail and the other's, Youhei, was short and down but otherwise they looked identical.

"Yeah." Inui nodded.

"We are not a pair!" One of the twins shouted out. They spun around and faced Momo and Inui back to back. "Unit, as we would like to be called."

"Unit?" Momo echoed. "A pair is a pair!"

Inui placed a hand on his shoulder. "Momo, don't get too excited now. We haven't even started."

"Sorry…" Momo pouted.

All four took their places on the court and prepared to play. Suddenly Momo threw the ball into the air and served. The tournament had begun.

I stood by the court with the rest of the team to watch as Akumei stood beside me, looking completely bored. The twins were able to predict where the ball would by listening to the sound of impact and they played on the baseline, close to the net. Momo started to get frustrated and made mistakes, hitting the net a few times. The twins infuriated him more by turning face to face and talking about test scores. They began only hitting to Momo knowing that he'd make mistakes. Inui was left helplessly standing by.

"They're only hitting to Momo…" Echizen pointed out.

"Momo, who isn't used to doubles, hasn't realized that yet." Fuji added.

After a while longer, one of the twins tapped the ball into the air. Momo ran at it and leapt up to slam it downwards for his dunk smash, ignoring Inui as he yelled for him not to. Momo hit it but the twins were already in place. They swung together and slammed the ball at the same time, one racket behind the others to return Momo's ball. It went shooting past Momo as he stood in shock and dropped his racket, mouth hanging open.

"To think that those two easily returned Momo's dunk smash…" Kawamura murmured.

"No, Momo-senpai isn't playing at his normal strength." Echizen replied.

"Yeah, by losing his calmness the timing in his jump and stroke are off." Oishi explained.

We all turned back to watch as the match resumed. "Momo, calm down." Inui said, but this only frustrated Momo further. The game paused again with Momo and Inui losing four games to none.

One of the freshman boys, Horio, suggested something and another, Katsuo, promptly told him it wouldn't work. Soon they had grabbed each other by the front of their shirts and were screaming. Everyone turned to stare, even Momo and Inui from the court. "Calm down, calm down!" Sakuno cried.

"Do you think I can calm down?" Horio yelled.

"Ah, this is the same as Momochan-senpai!" The last freshman boy, Kachiro, pointed out.

That caught Momo's attention. I watched him while Oishi and Kikumaru went to pull the freshmen apart. "Just like me…?" Momo whispered. He walked over to Inui. "Inui-senpai…" He began. "Please forgive me!" By now everyone was watching him, including the entire other team. "I was almost playing by myself, but everything's fine now!" Momo declared. "From this point we're going to play seriously."

"Alright Momoshiro." Inui smiled. "Let's show them our doubles."

The two prepared to play once again and everyone stopped fighting to watch. Inui whispered to Momo where to serve to and Momo did. The twins were caught off guard and didn't return it. They began talking to each other, wondering what had happened.

"Why are they in tune now?" Kouhei asked.

"Don't worry." Youhei replied. "We'll send a lob and provoke him."

Momo served again and they returned it, knocking the next ball they received lazily high into the air. Momo jumped up and looked like he was about to perform his dunk smash, but instead let it fall just on the other side of the next. Youhei dashed forwards and returned it but Inui was there, having predicted what Youhei would do, and slammed it past him.

"Inui gave Momo instructions after their bodies adapted to this irregular formation." Fuji said, speaking of how the twins stood on the baseline side by side.

"Yeah, their combination is working well." Kikumaru agreed.

The game proceeded great until Momo sent another dunk smash at the twins. They swung together to return it, but instead both of their rackets were knocked out of their hands by the force of the shot. Their entire team stood watching with mouths hanging open. With that point, they won another game, now only down three games to four. They paused for a water break and Momo thanked Katsuo and Horio as they stood unsure of what they had done. "It's because of you guys that I calmed down." Momo grinned. "Thank you." The freshmen were still standing in bewilderment. Momo turned towards Inui. "Inui-senpai, let's finish this off now!"

The game continued again until they were up five games to four with only one more needed to win the match. They were having another water break. As Momo took a drink, Inui reached a hand towards him. "Oh, that's…" His voice trailed off as Momo turned towards him.

"Yes…?" He was still smiling when he collapsed.

"H-hey… M-Momoshiro…?" Their coach, Ryuzaki asked. "Pull yourself together, Momoshiro!"

It turns out he had drank from Inui's bottle. As Momo was being carried out on a stretcher, Inui said, "I'm sorry Momo. That one is still in the experimental stages. The balance of taste isn't…"

I shivered, thinking back to the drink he had me try during my last visit. "It's ok…" Momo moaned as he was carried away.

"Jyousei Shounan wins the doubles two match due to Seigaku withdrawal." The referee announced. Everyone stood watching in shock.

"Really now, I question the coach's abilities." Hanamura, the opponent's coach called rather loudly.

Ryuzaki took out her anger out on Inui, waving his water bottle in his face. "But really Inui, you shouldn't bring such weird things onto the court!"

"Weird… weird things?" Inui frowned, looking taken aback.

"Everyone, let's cheer up." Kawamura said as they called for the doubles one teams.

Kikumaru walked onto the court with Oishi. "Oishi, lets play our best. I'm going to play like I always do."

"Yeah." Oishi nodded as they looked over their opponents. There was a huge height difference by at least three feet. One was huge and well built with spiky black hair and the other was tiny with goggles and hair to his shoulders.

Oishi served underhand and the huge guy, Daichi, hit it out of bounds. It continued for a while longer until I noticed something. "Hey… Is Oishi's right wrist ok?" I asked.

Fuji shook his head. "He injured it a while ago…"

I frowned as I watched the little guy run up Daichi's back and then jump off to hit a smash from high into the air. With that point, they increased their lead at five games to two. A short water break was held and when they returned, Oishi and Kikumaru were standing in what they called the I formation. Kikumaru stood up by the net, crouched lower than it, in the middle of the court with Oishi serving from straight behind him at back. By having Kikumaru at the net in the middle, it confused the receiver so he wasn't sure where to hit. Kikumaru could then fairly easily return it.

"They are aiming for the middle of the opponents." I looked away to watch Inui as he explained. "Gathering the balls in the middle of the opponent has two advantages. Hitting the ball in the middle makes it difficult to return at an angle. Thank to that, the one at the net doesn't have to move very far and can stay in the front. In other words, it means Eiji has access to a wide range of attacks."

"At this rate, Oishi has a bit more time to rest his wrist." Kawamura pointed out.

Finally, at one point Kikumaru let the ball go by over his head. Their opponents charged the net and Oishi smashed it by. They had forgotten about him, another good point of the I formation. The next thing I knew, Oishi's face was scrunched up in pain and he dropped his racket on the ground. Kikumaru crouched next to him but Oishi grabbed it back up. "I'm fine. I don't want this to be our last match." Since they were seniors, if they lost this tournament, Kikumaru and Oishi wouldn't be able to play tennis again. "Come on, let's resume the game." Hanamura snapped her fingers, signaling for her team to target Oishi and his hurt wrist. Oishi was heavily pressured but still just smiled and nodded when Kikumaru asked if he was ok.

I glared from Oishi's obviously bruised and red wrist towards the other team. Somewhat to my relief, they seemed to be feeling guilty about targeting him, however I quickly grew angry again as they continued anyway. "Don't worry Oishi. I'll do all the attacks. You just stay back on defense. We won't lose." Kikumaru said, handing Oishi the racket that had just been knocked from his hands. "Let's go to the nationals!"

Oishi stared at him for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah!" They continued again, going as Kikumaru had planned. Because they weren't following their normal roles in a doubles match, their opponents became confused and no longer were able to just target Oishi. Kikumaru signaled to Oishi behind his back and Oishi nodded, dragging his racket along the ground and hitting the ball upwards. It soared over the little guy's head as he jumped off Daichi's back but dropped sharply, just hitting the out of bounds line. That was Oishi's special shot, the moon volley.

"Game and match, Seigaku seven games to five!" The announcer cried. Cheers erupted from Seigaku's side as Oishi and Kikumaru high fived each other. I covered my ears as screaming girls started yelling out again surrounding Wakato.

"Kaidoh, it's your turn." Inui said.

Kaidoh turned to look at him, holding up his racket. "I'm ready whenever."

I watched, wincing, as Wakato walked onto the court, waving to the hordes of girls waving signs and banners with his name on them. He blew them a kiss and their screams intensified. Kaidoh was on the court waiting for him. They shook hands and Wakato laughed. "Well, I should decide who your opponent should be."

"My opponent…?" Echoed Kaidoh.

"Hmm… The player that fits you best will be…" He trailed off and reached into his pocket, pulling out the white baseball cap and tossing it high into the air. He snapped his fingers and shouted, "Change!"

"Over!" All the girls screamed in response.

Wakato reached up, caught the hat as it fell back down, and put it on his head backwards. When he looked up again, he was no longer smiling but looked instead very serious.

"His eyes suddenly changed." Echizen said.

"Change over…" Inui murmured.

"It means to change I guess." Oishi said.

"This will become interesting." Fuji added.

Kaidoh served and Wakato crouched low, waiting, and hit it back. Everyone gasped in surprise and I turned to them. "What…?"

"That style belongs to Lleyton Hewitt, one of the top pros in the world." A man who was reporting on the game, Inoue, replied.

"Now that you mention it, even his habits are the same!" Kikumaru pointed out.

We turned back to the game to see Kaidoh lob it high over Wakato's head yet somehow he managed to return it with his back to the net. Kaidoh hit the net and Wakato got the first game. Kaidoh didn't get a single point of a game where he started serving. Of course, all of Wakato's fan girls started screaming as he waved to them. The next game started up and they hit it back and forth for a while. Suddenly, Wakato hit it to him, and Kaidoh ran to get it, hitting it so it bounced across the court instead of to the back of the other side. This was his move called the snake and was the one Wakato had made fun of specifically in the interview.

"It was more powerful than I thought…" Wakato said, smiling. "But it wasn't something worth hiding."

"What?" Kaidoh asked angrily. Wakato just laughed and resumed the game. When Kaidoh got another point off him, he paused to stuff the hat back into his pocket. He snapped his fingers and yelled "change!" again, and once more all the girls answered with "over!" His face changed again from serious to constantly smiling and so did his entire stance.

"P-Pistol Pete." Inoue stammered.

"That playing style…" Kikumaru started.

"Yeah, looks like this time it's…" Fuji added.

"Pete Sampras." Echizen finished.

"Pistol Pete is Sampson's nickname…" Inoue went on. "He was called that for his sharp serves. I can't believe Wakato can copy an all around player like him. He even mimics all the little habits. This is Wakato's Style of the Pretender."

Wakato approached Kaidoh after he had fallen flat chasing a ball. "You don't have to try that hard. You're going to lose in the end."

Kaidoh just stared at him. "Shut up. You're just a copycat. I'm not scared of you one bit. I won't lose to a guy like you."

"I see… why don't you try to win then?" Wakato replied.

I listened in on the rest of the team as Kaidoh resumed playing. Wakato served and then ran up to the net. "Serve and volley." Echizen said.

"He's good, a mirror image of Sampras." Fuji murmured.

"It's just like with Hewitt." Inui added. "He is mimicking them perfectly."

"He can't do it unless he practices it a lot." Oishi pointed out.

"So that's his Style of the Pretender." Kikumaru finished.

"No matter how good he is, he's just a pretender." Momo muttered from where he was leaning against a wall, still obviously sick. "Come on Kaidoh, you better not lose to that copycat or else…" Momo and Kaidoh were fierce rivals to the end.

We turned back in time to see Kaidoh score another point. Wakato looked frustrated as he served again. "Kaidoh is getting used to his opponent's style." Inui said.

"Go Viper, make a comeback!" Momo muttered, clenching his fist.

Echizen turned to look at him. "Momo-senpai, are you sure you should be up?"

"How can I sit at a crucial moment like this?" I laughed and moved closer to him slipping his arm around my shoulders to help him stay standing. He seemed to be having troubles. He barely seemed to notice as he concentrated on the game. I gave an amused smile and turned to watch as well. Kaidoh hit another Snake that circled around Wakato and gained himself a game, bringing the score tied at one each.

Wakato stood with one hand on his hip and the other below his eye just as he had done before changing styles each previous time. "My, my, it seems this style has depleted all its usefulness." He laughed and pointed his racket at Kaidoh. "I have just thought of the perfect style for you!" He threw a hand into the air. "Change!"

"Over!" The girls screamed back.

Wakato crossed his arms over his chest and then threw them wide, yelling loudly. "Are you stupid?" Kaidoh asked, and then served the ball.

Kikumaru pointed a finger in aggravation. "What's with that guy changing his form like that?"

"What…?" I asked. "Who's it now?"

"Andre Agassi." Inui answered. "Most fast serves won't work on this return genius." As if to prove this, Wakato easily returned Kaidoh's Snake and shortly after won another game. In response to his cheering fan girls, Wakato kissed the ball before cheering. I flinched as they shouted louder.

"Stop fooling around, you bastard." Kaidoh muttered.

"Don't fret, I'm thinking of the perfect opponent for you." He answered. He shouted "change" and the girls shouted "over". Then he crossed his arms over his chest, spread them out again, and switched to playing with his left hand.

"Was he a southpaw?" Momo gasped.

After watching him play for a bit, Echizen frowned. "He's Goran Ivanisevic this time."

"He is one of the top ranked left handed pros in the world." Inui added. "He is a serve and volley specialist like Sampras, but he's more emotional." Wakato won another game so now the count was three games to two, in his favor.

Before changing courts, they had a short water break and Kaidoh was sitting on the bench wiping his face as he listened to the girls fawning over Wakato. "You're too loud! Don't talk during the game. Shut up and watch!"

"What's up with that guy?" One of the girls frowned.

Wakato just smiled over at him. "I should tell you something. Your Snake is just a variation of the Buggy Whip Shot. It's not something you invented, which means you have nothing original too. It means your development is slow compared to those who copy another person's style and incorporate it into their own." Kaidoh just watched him steadily and then returned to the court. After winning another game, Wakato changed again, this time to Gustavo Kuerten, who was known for the grunt he made when hitting the ball.

"I admit you're good, but I know people who use those moves better than you!" Kaidoh said, referring to his teammates, after scoring another point. It continued until it was six games to five in Kaidoh's favor.

"I just determined the ultimate opponent that will crush you." Wakato said. "Change…"

"…over!" The girls replied.

Wakato placed his hat on backwards and bent low, arms hanging in front of himself. He even imitated Kaidoh's hiss. The backwards hat took the place of his bandana. He mimicked Kaidoh's moves all perfectly, even the Snake shot. "I can't believe he can do Kaidoh…" Oishi murmured.

"Nobody's ever played themselves." Fuji replied. "All the experiences mean nothing at this point."

I glanced nervously towards Akumei who was suddenly smirking back at me. Momo noticed. "What's wrong?"

I shifted myself underneath him as he leaned more heavily on me but smiled at him. "It's nothing…" We turned back to watch the game. By imitating Kaidoh, Wakato had won and now they entered a twelve point tiebreak.

"He's good…" We all turned towards Inui.

"You think so too Inui?" Oishi asked. "You mean…"

"You mean his racket is millimeters away or something?" Kikumaru interrupted.

"Don't be stupid." Inui replied. "He's centimeters away. What's amazing his how he uses his muscles. That's not a simple snake shot that you can just copy. No normal player can hit like Kaidoh does, but he copied with only slight imperfection."

"But still, you have to be honored that you're being copied by Wakato, who mimics all the top pros in the world." Kikumaru smiled but Oishi simply turned his head towards Kaidoh who was glaring so fiercely that Kikumaru backed away a few steps. "Total displeasure!" He shouted.

"Kaidoh-senpai is really mad…" Echizen said.

"Of course." Momo replied. "How could that stupid Viper take the fact he just got beaten by his own…" He trailed off and clamped a hand over his mouth, as he felt sick again.

"Don't throw up on me!" I squealed, still holding him up.

"Hey take a rest, Momo." Kawamura exclaimed.

"Making Kaidoh angry is a skill I want too." Inui frowned. "Let's see what you got…" He quieted and we all turned to watch as Wakato served again. We watched as they hit it back and forth several times. "Kaidoh used the running Buggy Whip shot just now." Inui said. "In a Snake war, being forced to run left and right will be numerous. So, he's making Kaidoh use buggy whip shots to bide time."

"That Wakato boy is interesting." Fuji laughed. "But if he keeps pushing it…"

"He might get bitten." Echizen continued.

"Bye the fangs of the Viper." Fuji ended.

"So dangerous, dangerous." Momo murmured.

"What… do you mean?" I asked, watching as Kaidoh hit his around the pole shot, the Boomerang Snake.

"Boomerang Snake!" all the freshman shouted together.

"There. Just got bitten!" Fuji and Echizen said simultaneously. Wakato stood in blinking in a slight shock until he shook himself out of it and they resumed. The two kept hitting Snakes at each other and then returning the shot with another Snake. Kaidoh was hitting them deep to put unneeded stress on Wakato's knees. Suddenly, Wakato copied Kaidoh's form again, hitting a Boomerang Snake! It hit out of bounds but caught everyone by surprise.

"He's good, it almost went in." Fuji said.

"But it won't." Inui replied. "It won't with that swing. You can hit a Snake by lowering your body and swinging upwards, but not a Boomerang. Boomerang required much more refined wrist action and swing. Without it, he can't hit a real Boomerang."

"I see." Fuji smiled. "Without refined training, the Boomerang is impossible. Very Kaidoh."

The game proceeded for a little while and then the referee shouted, "Game and match, Seigaku's Kaidoh!"

"Ha!" I shouted, laughing at the girls who had burst into tears over Wakato's loss.

"You did well, it was a complete defeat." Wakato said as he and Kaidoh shook hands.

"Why didn't you change?" Kaidoh asked.

"Oh, that was because of my stubbornness. You understand, don't you?" Kaidoh just glared.

There was a short break and I helped Momo sit back leaning against the stone wall close by the tennis court. Akumei was sitting half asleep by the court's fence and kept complaining about how bored he was so I wandered around to get away. I looked up, flinching, as two of Wakato's fan girls saw Kaidoh walking ahead and screamed out. "Kaidoh, look this way! We love your bandana!" Kaidoh turned around and gave them his normal fierce glare, which was pretty much the constant look on his face. Both of them screamed "I'm sorry!" and one even poured her own drink on her head. I burst out laughing as Kaidoh watched them leave in a kind of shock.

Echizen walking by, smiling. "You're a stud, Kaidoh-senpai."

"Kaidoh!" I laughed, walking up to him. "That was great! You scared them away just by looking at them! Haha, shut those stupid girls up…" I added under my breath as I held my ear through the bandana I wore. Kaidoh gave me a somewhat nervous look. I noticed and smiled, waving it off as we proceeded back to the courts. I placed myself in between the two teams, but closer to Seigaku. Echizen and his opponent, Shinjyou, walked onto the court and shook hands. Shinyou was at least three feet taller. "Wow… That guy's huge!" I gasped. He had extremely short blue gray hair as well.

"No, you're just small." Akumei smirked, standing behind me. He placed his chin on my head and his arms on my shoulders and leaned forward so I was holding him up. "Actually, you seem to have shrunk even more."

"It's just because it feels strange being taller than all of them…" I muttered, referring to the Seigaku team. "And I'm not small! I'm five foot six!" Akumei just chuckled.

I turned back around as Kikumaru said, "Wow, another huge height difference! I wonder if kiddo will be ok…"

"I have almost no data on Reiji Shinjyou. No data…" Inui frowned.

Suddenly Sakuno burst into cheering and Tomo joined her. Soon after Kikumaru jumped in and then pretty much every non-regular member was cheering loudly. I stood staring in a slight stupor as Momo and Kawamura smiled cheerfully. _At least they're not high pitched and deafening…_ I thought with a sigh.

Finally, they quieted as the match started. Echizen scored the first four points and easily won himself the first game within minutes. Shortly after, he had won his second. Echizen finally lost his first point when Shinjyou served it and Echizen hit it back and out. "There's something hidden there… In the serve." Fuji murmured.

I turned glanced over at the other team's captain and strained to hear as he said, "That was it, the Mirage." _The Mirage…?_ I frowned and continued to watch. Shinjyou served another identical ball but this time it knocked the racket from Echizen's hand.

"It's not like Echizen to miss and easy return…" Oishi frowned.

"What do you think, Fuji?" Inui asked.

"It looks like an ordinary serve but…" Fuji trailed off as Echizen hit another ball all the way to the opposite fence. "His form. His form is always the same." He resumed. "His form is the same when he hits the ball both hard and soft. You cannot tell how hard he's hitting the ball."

I frowned. "So that's his Mirage…" I watched as Shinjyou won this game and Echizen served. Shinjyou returned it and when Echizen tried to as well, the ball went flying to the fence again. Shinjyou could use the mirage in returns too and not just when serving.

Kikumaru's eyes went wide as he watched them continue. He blinked his eyes and took another look before saying, "He hit the ball with a top spin, but it change to an under spin!"

"No matter how good he is, it's not possible to change the ball from top spin to under spin." Kawamura replied.

Kikumaru turned towards him. "Don't you trust my eyes? I have the best vision on Seigaku. Take a good look!"

"I-I saw it…" I blinked. I had thought I was just seeing things. Momo and Kawamura leaned forward and then confessed in shock that they saw it too. Shortly after, the ref announced it was tied, two games each. Before I knew it, Shinjyou had gained another and led by one. Echizen served, first switching to his right hand from his usual left. He served the ball and it hit the ground, spinning for a moment, and then shooting up towards Shinjyou. He promptly hit it back and Echizen fired it out of bounds again. Instead of trying something new, he gave the same serve again, called the Twist Serve, and Shinjyou returned it. This time so did Echizen and he hit it back as a Twist ball, which was pretty much the same as the serve, and also headed straight towards the opponent's face. "I see through your technique." Echizen declared, and then scored his first point in three games. From then on, he kept easily returning all balls hit at him.

"Shinjyou's form is slightly off." Inui explained. "Every player dodges without knowing when a ball is heading straight towards them. Too much power will be used all of a sudden. I'm sure it's only off by a few millimeters, but Echizen is aiming for that."

"I see…" Kikumaru nodded.

Their coach, Ryuzaki, spoke up. "Survival instincts will affect everyone slightly. Once that happens, the Mirage becomes just a regular return."

Echizen won another game, bringing it to three each. "You and your coach are both Mada Mada Dane." Echizen smiled towards Shinjyou.

I jumped as Shinjyou's eyes widened in anger, just for an instant, and then returned to normal. "What's wrong?" Akumei asked. He had still been leaning on me.

"N-nothing…" I murmured. I looked back up to see Shinjyou serving again. He crossed his arms in front of him with a ball in one hand and his racket in the other.

"Reiji, no, don't use that move!" Hanamura, his coach, shouted suddenly. My eyes darted towards the rest of the team who were all staring in shock. Shinjyou ignored her and served. The ball came speeding towards Echizen, much faster than any previous hits, and grazed his cheek. Echizen gasped out and fell over backwards, dropping his racket.

"E-Echizen should not have insulted his coach…" I whispered, staring at Shinjyou who looked enraged.

I watched Echizen slowly sit up and listened in on the other team. Kajimoto, their captain frowned. "Deep Impulse."

"Deep… Impulse…?" Youhei and Kouhei echoed.

"Sensei's is going to be mad." Wakato stated. Hanamura was staring at Shinjyou in a horrified shock.

"It looks like an abrasion…" Inoue said, referring to the red streak on Echizen's cheek.

I turned back towards Kajimoto. "Shinjyou, I know we have to advance to the finals, but to use that serve… Is Echizen Ryoma that special of an opponent?"

The referee paused the game for Echizen to get a new racket. I looked now and saw the strings in the middle of his were all snapped. "That move was not in Shinjyou's data." Inui frowned.

"That was a move?" Kawamura asked. "It just looked like a really powerful shot to me."

"The position of his body during the serve, the instant impact and movements were all shown in his mirage shots." Inui explained. "This isn't something you can do with just power. Everything was calculated."

We all watched again as Echizen returned with his spare racket in hand. Shinjyou served again and crossed his arms like before. He hit another Deep Impulse and it circled around Echizen's racket as he tried to swing, and instead added another red mark on his cheek above the first.

"That bastard… Why is he serving like that?" Momo yelled.

"It seems his goal is to injure the opponent." Fuji replied.

I listened once again as Kajimoto spoke. "Deep Impulse is a technique that Shinjyou used before he met Sensei. But Sensei forbade him from using that move.

"Even though she forbade it…" Youhei started.

"…He must have still been practicing it." Kouhei finished.

"There is no excess in his moves. Perhaps next time I should become Shinjyou." Wakato said and I smiled slightly at his imitation.

"Deep Impulse is a technique designed to injure the other player." Kajimoto went on. "The shot formed from that concentration contains a lot of power."

"But this is the first time I've seen it. Why did Sensei seal it?" Daichi asked. "It's so powerful."

They paused to watch and I did as well. This time Shinjyou did a normal serve and then hit Echizen's return back as a Deep Impulse. "Deep Impulse is not just a serve." Kajimoto said. I watched as Echizen switched to his right hand again and returned it, but I noticed another red line near his chin. "It's started, this is the real Deep Impulse. In tennis, you usually hit to opposite where your opponent is or get the point by making them miss. But Shinjyou uses his super control and power to hit it towards the opponent. It makes the opponent feel danger, lose fighting spirit, and lose. He has such good control that he's certain to hurt his opponent." I clenched my fist and growled softly, quickly trying to hide it as Kajimoto glanced over at me.

"That's dangerous. I don't ever want to play against Shinjyou." Daichi frowned, crossing his arms. Soon Shinjyou won another game, ahead four to three. Echizen served now and Shinjyou returned it. The ball sped up at the end and knocked aside Echizen's racket, grazing his cheek again. They continued for a while when Echizen ran at the ball. Just when it looked like it would slam him in the face, he stopped dead and hit it back, knocking the racket from Shinjyou's hand. Suddenly Echizen was able to return the Deep Impulse.

"Oh, you've thought about it Echizen." Inui smiled. "Maintaining a low posture and then stopping. That step is Stuttered step. Echizen is attacking the ball before it has a chance to accelerate. He's using that step to shorten the distance between himself and the ball, making it easy to return and lessening the power of the ball."

"But wouldn't the burden be on yourself too?" Momo asked.

"But the burden would be much greater for the opponent, than the one on his hands." Inui replied.

"It seems like every time it's hit, it sounds louder." Oishi pointed out.

"Chibi's probably testing how heavy the ball can get." Kikumaru said. Continuing to use the step, Echizen brought the game tied at four each again. Shortly after Echizen won another, because Shinjyou used it to calm himself down. They resumed and started up a rally, hitting the balls back and forth to each other as hard as they could. Finally, Echizen approached the net and slammed it back towards Shinjyou. It hit his racket and knocked it out of his hand, leaving a small red streak on his cheek.

"Echizen injured Shinjyou!" Kawamura smiled.

"Echizen has amazing power." Momo nodded.

"The ball that hurt Shinjyou was his own." Both of them turned in confusion towards Inui. "Echizen is using Shinjyou's power. As the game progressed, he was able to get the timing down. How he can hit the ball without putting too much burden on himself."

Echizen served again after Shinjyou replaced his racket and another rally began. Echizen's hand was becoming strained from returning all the hard shots, and Shinjyou started using the Mirage again to shake him up. Then he positioned himself to return with a Deep Impulse, but instead hit a normal shot, messing with Echizen's head further. Yet another rally started as Echizen began to overcome his mind games. Finally, he hit a ball past Shinjyou, one that accelerated towards the end and left red marks on his arm. He scored his next point when the ball hit the edge of Shinjyou's racket instead of the middle. Shinjyou ran at the ball, hitting a Deep Impulse on the way and Echizen somehow managed to return it, scoring his last point to win the sixth game. Shinjyou only had four games so Echizen won the match.

Cheers erupted everywhere as Echizen gave a relieved sigh. "Akumei, get off me now!" I whined. He seemed to have actually fallen asleep leaning on my shoulders and still standing behind me. I frowned and slipped from beneath him, turning back to catch him and lower him to the ground. "It wasn't that boring…" I muttered, glancing up to see Kajimoto standing beside me and staring. "Yes…?" I asked nervously.

He turned away and approached Oishi, taking his hand to shake it. "Hi there, I'm the captain Kajimoto."

"I'm the temporary captain, Oishi." Oishi replied.

"Congratulations on making it to the best four." Kajimoto smiled. "By the way, who was singles one?"

"I was." Fuji said, approaching. "But it looks like Echizen took it from me." Because Seigaku won three out of the five matches, there was no need to play the last.

"This is our Fuji." Oishi nodded.

"I've heard of your abilities. I would have loved to play you if we made it to singles one. It's too bad."

They shook hands as Fuji agreed. "Same here."

"Good luck with the nationals." Kajimoto said to Oishi.

He nodded. "Yeah, we'll try our best."

I was crouched down beside Akumei, muttering under my breath as I jabbed him sharply in the arm with my claws. "Hey, wake up! I know you can't be this dead asleep! I know you don't want to be woken by a punch to the face."

"Is everything alright?"

I looked up to see Kajimoto smiling curiously down at me. "O-oh yeah… Everything's fine!" I felt myself blushing. _He's really pretty…!_ I thought to myself. He had medium brown hair that flipped slightly up at the back and purplish blue eyes. His ears were pierced too. "I'm just trying to wake him up…" I nodded towards Akumei.

"Ah, I see." Kajimoto laughed as he crouched beside me. "Were you listening as I spoke during that last match?"

"Uhh…. I…" I stammered. "I-I didn't tell Echizen or the others anything to help them win or anything!"

He laughed again at my reaction. "I wasn't saying you did. I was simply wondering how you heard when I was speaking quietly." He stared closer at me and then continued. "Also, why does it look like there is hair where your ears should be?"

My eyes grew wide as I clamped my hands over the side of my head. "W-what? You can tell…?" I gasped. He gave an expectant look and I hesitantly went on. "Because…" I glanced around to make sure no one was watching and then quickly pulled the bandana off my head. "…I have these ears instead. They're also how I could overhear you from a distance."

He stared for a moment until one twitched and then reached out and tugged lightly on it. "So they're… real? …What are you?"

I nodded, tying the bandana on again. "…I'm a demon, but please don't tell anyone! I'm just here until I can return to my own world again!"

He blinked and shook his head, then smiled back at me. "Alright, I won't tell. It was nice meeting you…?"

"Kira." I replied in relief as I shook his hand.

"I'm Kajimoto." He said. "Well, I'll see you later." He stood up again and returned to his team.

I watched and snapped a picture of them all together when they were facing me and then turned back to Akumei. "Wake… up…!" I yelled, smacking him on the cheek.

He sat bolt upright. "What?" He screamed, and then realized what happened and glared at me.

"Well you deserved it." I said, sticking my tongue out.

I looked up as Kawamura approached. "Kira, we're heading to my father's sushi bar for the all you can eat sushi I promised. You're coming right?"

"Oh, but I didn't do anything!"

He smiled. "Well you were here… Plus, the freshman and reporters are coming along too. You can bring Akumei with you even."

I laughed. "I've never had sushi before…"

The next thing I knew, I was sitting on my knees in front of a table full of food with Tomo, Sakuno, the reporter Inoue's assistant, Shiba, and Akumei. "Eat all you want!" Coach Ryuzaki announced and all of us, excluding Akumei who was eating too, stared in shock towards the team. They, mostly Momo, were stuffing their faces with anything they could reach.

Momo had something shoved almost into his mouth when Kawamura popped up beside him with a huge tray in his arms. "Wait a sec! Did you forget? The losers have to eat wasabi sushi."

"Why?" Momo screamed.

"I'm jealous." Fuji said earnestly.

"Of course Inui has to as well." Oishi smiled.

"I guess I have to…" Inui frowned, his eyebrow twitching in disgust.

"W-wait a minute!" Momo cried, crawling away from Kawamura and the tray. "I was the victim here! You should blame Inui-senpai."

"Stop whining Momo, just eat it!" Kikumaru said.

"Hey Echizen, say something will you?" Momo asked.

"Mada Mada Dane." Echizen placed more food into his mouth.

"Eat up!" Oishi, Kikumaru, and Kawamura said in union, each holding some wasabi sushi towards toward Momo and Inui, who flinched back in fear. Their horrified screams filled the air that night.

* * *

"Where are you going?" 

I looked back at Akumei who I had thought was asleep. "To watch another match."

"Ah come on, it's so boring!"

"No way, I think I'm going to start playing tennis when I get home!" I grinned and then ran from the clearing before he could try anything. I continued at a sprint along the sidewalk, making sure that the bandana was on tight as I dodged around pedestrians. Finally, I arrived at the courts and saw Inui, Fuji, Echizen, Momo and the girl, Ann, already there. I made my way towards them at the top of the bleaches and waved. "Hey, sorry I'm late…"

"Ah, no problem!" Momo smiled and then turned back to the game. "If Kamio wins this match, Fudomine will move onto the nationals like us."

I turned back to watch the game where Fudomine Jr. High and Yamabuki Jr. High were playing each other. I looked down on the courts to see Kamio playing against a guy from Yamabuki. He had short, messy orange hair and turquoise eyes. His name was Sengoku. He had Kamio running all over the place but Kamio caught him off guard with a move called Sonic Bullet that shot the ball back at the sound of speed. Even though he could see it, Sengoku never managed to hit it back. They tied with six games each and moved into a twelve-point tiebreak. Kamio needed one more point to win and was about to serve when he dropped the ball. "My bad…" He murmured as he picked it back up. He was sweating and breathing heavily, having reached his physical limit from all the running. Sengoku hit it to the far corner and Kamio stumbled on his way to it, knees giving out. He gritted his teeth and began to fall forward. Suddenly, at the last minute, he screamed, "damn it!" and caught himself with one hand. Everyone stared in shock at the sight of him holding himself up with one hand on the ground, the rest of him in the air. He swung and hit the ball back before collapsing.

"You've got to be kidding…" Sengoku gaped.

"Sorry, but Kamio's already played a guy as persistent as you." Fudomine's captain, Tachibana replied. I followed his glance to see Kaidoh standing on the far side of the courts. He stared at Kamio and then turned to walk away.

"Game and match, Fudomine's Kamio, seven games to six." The announcer declared. "Let's cheer Fudomine as they advance to the best four."

I watched as two teammates lifted Kamio from the ground and supported him and then turned towards Momo and the rest. "Well, I have to go. Akumei's probably mad at me for leaving him." They just laughed and said goodbye as I began to walk away. I passed Kamio and Ibu on the way. "Congratulations you guys!" I grinned and then waved as I went on.

"Thanks." Kamio said tiredly and Ibu shrugged as the rest of Fudomine stared after me curiously.

Walking around town later that day with Akumei trailing behind me, I bumped into Oishi. "Kira!" He called, coming over to me. "Have you tried out the building at the courts yet?"

"Actually, no…" I looked away guiltily.

Oishi just laughed. "Well come on, I made an extra key for you-"

"You didn't have to do that!" I interrupted.

He smiled. "Come on, it's almost dark so I'll take you there."

"Are you sure? You don't have somewhere else to be or something?"

Oishi shook his head and I followed with Akumei back to Seigaku and up to the tennis courts. We went to the little building near them and Oishi produced a key, sticking it into the door handle and turning to open it. "There we go." He smiled as the door swung open. It was a small room with square lockers to set their things in while they played and had one bench along a wall.

I stared around for a moment and then smiled. "Thanks Oishi…"

"No problem! Here's the key…" He pressed it into my hand. "And I'd like you to come to this." He pressed a piece of paper into my hand and then left, waving behind him, before I could ask about it.

"What's that?" Akumei asked.

"I don't know…" I looked it over and then read aloud, "Seigaku Tennis Club, Celebrating Top Four, Recreation Meeting, 9:00am." I glanced back up at Akumei. "Why would they want me there?" He shrugged and sat down on the bench, leaning back against the wall. "It says to bring you too…" I added, hoping to get a better response. Instead, Akumei just closed his eyes. I sighed and sat down next to him, staring at the floor until sleep took me.

* * *

The next morning I woke up and shook Akumei awake as well before leaving the building and locking it behind us. We went along the street until I caught a familiar scent, Kaidoh's. "Hey Kaidoh…!" I called as he turned around. "Do you have any idea what this is?" I waved the flyer in front of him. 

"You got invited too?" He asked.

"Yes, but do you know about it?"

Kaidoh shook his head and kept walking. I trailed along in silence behind him. Finally, we arrived at our destination. It was a bowling alley. Oishi, coach Ryuzaki, and Inui were all waiting and said in union upon our arrival, "yo." With that, they, Akumei, Kaidoh, Fuji, Echizen, Momo, Kikumaru, Kawamura, the three freshmen boys Kachiro, Katsuo, and Horio, and I all entered.

"We dropped Hyotei Gakuen and Jyousei Shounan Gakuen to reach best four in the Kantou tournament…" Ryuzaki began.

"I thought we could celebrate our achievements." Oishi added.

"Forget about tennis today and enjoy yourselves." Ryuzaki picked back up.

"I can't believe I got up early for this." Echizen scowled and turned to leave, yawning.

Inui stopped him, holding a large pitcher of blue liquid in his face. "I forgot to mention. Those who forfeit will have to drink my Inui Special Recovery Juice: Aozu. The losing team will also have to drink it. And for people who get gutter balls…" He paused and held up a tiny shot glass. "This…"

Kikumaru stuck a shaky finger towards the glass and pulled out one drop, letting it fall on his tongue. "W-what is this? So sour…!" He shouted loudly and started waving it away. "It's vinegar, just vinegar!"

"How rude, I adjusted the taste." Inui frowned.

"W-well I heard black vinegar can be good for you body…" Kaidoh started, trying to be optimistic.

Momo cut him off. "Kaidoh, are you stupid? Look at it! It's blue, blue! Does that look like a natural color to you?"

"Who are you calling stupid? Are you picking a fight?" Kaidoh hissed and immediately the two got in each other's faces as Kawamura tried to calm them.

"C-come on Akumei, we're leaving…" I stammered in a faint voice. I started inching away, pulling him with me, but Oishi caught my sleeve.

"No, we're all playing, right Kira?"

I bowed my head. "Right…" I said in a defeated voice.

After everyone put on the right shoes, which I refused to wear no matter what, Ryuzaki announced the teams. "Momoshiro and Echizen, Kikumaru and Fuji, Inui and Kaidoh, Kawamura and Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo, Kira and Akumei, and I'll be in Oishi's team."

"Oishi-senpai, will you be ok with your wrist?" Momo asked.

"Yeah, it's just recreation so I thought I'd go with my left."

Things started and Kachiro and Katsuo got a spare their first time. Kaidoh's ball resembled his snake shot and curved so much it hit the gutter. He froze as he realized Inui was hovering over him holding a shot glass full of blue liquid. Everyone froze to watch as Kaidoh drank, screamed, and collapsed unconscious on the ground. They propped him up on a seat.

Inui cocked his head to the side curiously as Momo stammered in horror, "H-he passed out from a shot glass…"

Fuji threw next and also got a gutter ball. Inui popped up beside him with a glass as well. "So, how does it taste this time, Inui?" Fuji asked.

"I envy Fuji. Inui Juice has no affect on him." Everyone froze to stare at Fuji as a blue liquid dribbled down his chin. A half empty shot glass slipped through his fingers as he fell face first into the ground. Everyone panicked but set him on a seat as well.

Now it was my turn. I managed to knock down most pins but then Akumei had to try for the rest. He had never even bowled in his life. Actually, he didn't even know what bowling was! I told him how to hold the ball and wished him luck. It did little good though and he stared stupefied as his ball rolled into the gutter. Inui handed him a glass as well and, after a little prodding from me, he drank it and joined Fuji and Kaidoh unconscious in the chairs.

The game resumed and Ryuzaki and Echizen both got strikes. So did Oishi and that's when it was discovered that Ryuzaki and Oishi both had personal bowling gloves.

"I thought it was strange… They're bowling freaks!" Kikumaru muttered.

"Oishi even has a left hand bowling gloves…" Momo pointed out.

"Which means he's been bowling with his left all his life." Echizen finished. "We can't lose!" Momo and Echizen agreed. They watched in horror as Oishi got another strike.

"Mada Mada Dane…" Ryuzaki said as Oishi echoed a noise Momo always made after doing his signature move.

Echizen and Momo glared and Momo bowled, yelling in rage as he did so. Somehow he pulled off a strike.

"Eiji's getting hot…" Oishi murmured, referring to how well Kikumaru was suddenly doing.

As Kikumaru was about to throw his ball, coach Ryuzaki placed her hand on a ball and shouted in horror, "This ball has no holes!" Kikumaru turned to look as she laughed. "No, this is just Oishi's head." Kikumaru nearly fell over in surprise and dropped his ball in the process. He watched helplessly as it rolled into the gutter. Inui was there immediately with another glass of Aozu. Kikumaru drank, screamed, and passed out. "Did we do something bad…?" Ryuzaki asked Oishi slyly.

"Those two are scary…" Momo murmured.

"More like they're dirty." Echizen frowned. Kawamura was the next to have to drink it, making it five people dropping out.

Inui had been hitting the same pin every single time using the same throw every single time. Finally, he decided that he should just gutter the ball and drink a small glass than come in last and have to drink the pitcher. Momo noticed. "He's aiming for the gutter!"

Inui started to throw but stopped as someone grabbed his ankle. Kaidoh had dragged himself over to him. "Until the end… Don't you be… giving up…!" He gasped out. Inui jumped in alarm and fell back into Ryuzaki. Both their balls fell right into the gutter.

"W-wait, that's not it…" Ryuzaki pleaded.

Inui held a shot glass to her face and one for himself in the other hand. "Let's drink together!" Ryuzaki fell immediately but Inui stayed standing for a moment. He turned towards Oishi and said, "I overdid it." Then he fell too.

"Don't make something you can't drink yourself…" Oishi sighed. Now seven people were propped around in the chairs. Horio guttered and made it eight.

I was barely holding on and somehow doing fairly well until the ball curved into the gutter at the last second. I stared at it in horror, reluctantly turning around to see Oishi holding a shot glass of blue liquid towards me. I took it in a shaky hand and drained it in one gulp. "Are you ok?" Oishi asked.

I stared at him for a moment and opened my mouth to speak. Before anything came out, my eyes closed and I hit the floor. I was the ninth to be taken out. Oishi went next, slipping on some spilt Aozu and dropping his ball into the gutter. Momo expressionlessly handed him a shot glass, ignoring his pleas. Oishi screamed and was knocked out as well to be the tenth.

Now it was only Kachiro, Katsuo, Momo and Echizen left playing. Momo and Echizen smirked evilly towards the other two, who coward back laughing nervously. "Alright, they have to each get a strike in the last frame to beat us!" Momo cried. "Sorry freshmen, but we've got this one!"

"Th-that pitcher of Aozu… I don't want to drink it!" Kachiro screamed as he through the ball. "N-no way, my first strike!" He gasped.

"If I drink that… I'll die!" Katsuo yelled as he went and got a strike too.

"Th-this is probably the end…" Momo stammered as he and Echizen watched in horror.

"Mommy…!" Kachiro shouted as he threw the last ball.

Echizen and Momo watched helplessly as it sped down, knocking aside every pin. They pressed their noses frantically to the scoreboard and found they had lost by a single point, 156 to 157. "We-we lost?" They cried and tried to make a run for it instead of drinking the pitcher full.

All of the unconscious people seemed to come to life, only half awake. "Stop!" Kaidoh screamed. "Don't back out, you bastards!"

"That's right, drink it up!" Kikumaru added.

"It's pretty good…" Fuji moaned.

"Now then, all together…" Oishi and Ryuzaki said in union, rising up from nowhere to block Momo and Echizen's path. They screamed out in terror as Kachiro and Katsuo watched blankly.

"I'm so glad we won. Must be beginner's luck." They laughed nervously, stopping as Inui popped up beside them.

"I forgot to mention…" He said, holding up another picture. This one was full of smoking red liquid. "This is a reward for the winner. Inui specially-made Nutritional Strengthening Juice: Akazu." They screamed in horror and flinched away.

Hours later, I could faintly make out voices. "Customers, please wake up! This is a problem… Customers, the game is over! Please wake up! Geez, what were these guys doing?" He stood staring helplessly as everyone single one of us draped over random chairs or even flat out on the floor, all unconscious.

* * *

The next time I awoke, I was lying across the bench in the small court side building. In my closed hand was a small silver key Oishi had given me. I slipped it into my pocket and sat up, head aching as I looked around. Soon I saw that Akumei was against the wall at the foot of the bench and I tapped his shoulder lightly. "Akumei, are you alright?" 

I pulled back as he slightly groaned and then looked up at me. "We are never going with them to anything ever again."

"What?" I exclaimed, grinning. "Why not?" He just glared at me. "Alright, alright…" I sighed, climbing to my feet. "Well, let's go find something to do." He sluggishly followed me as I practically bounced from the room. I wondered over to the tennis courts first thing, since they were already so close, and saw a kid dressed exactly like Echizen. He wore the same hat, same shorts, same shirt, but he did not have the regular's jacket. His hair was dark and messy too.

He bowed low. "Nice to meet you, desu." He stood straight and continued. "I'm Taiichi Dan, a freshman at Yamabuki Junior High." I watched the confused looks everyone gave him for a moment and then saw some of the guys notice me. I smiled and waved at them before continuing on my way.

Once out of sight, I turned towards Akumei. "So, what do you have planned for today?"

"What do I have planned?" He echoed. "I have no idea… There doesn't seem to be that much to do around here."

"I'm bored!" I wailed. "We've already been here for over a week!"

"A week…?" Akumei asked.

I laughed. "Seven days." I yelped aloud as something hit me hard in the back, sending me skidding across the pavement and into a cement wall. I clasped my hands over my face, feeling the blood trickling down my forehead. "Ow!" I screamed. "Akumei, what's your problem?"

"You said you were bored…" He said, smirking mischievously.

"A little warning would be nice!"

"Do you expect to always get a warning? Did you get a warning before you were transported this time?"

I glared at him, knowing I couldn't argue with that. I yelped again and leapt out of the way as a crater was left in the ground where I was sitting. I glanced back in time to see the shadow sink back into the ground. "Are you trying to kill me? And you're destroying school property!" Akumei waved his hand over the hole and it fixed itself good as new. "Fine…" I said grumpily, diving for the shadow as it began to sink again. I blinked as my claws went right through its head as if it were smoke.

"What will you do…?" Akumei asked amusedly.

I glared at him and stared around, waiting for the shadow to show itself. Finally it did, and I closed my eyes, rolling out of the way, as it leapt towards me. Just before it hit the ground again, I opened my eyes, now glowing bright green, and grabbed at the shadow. As my fingers closed into a fist, a ball formed around the shadow. It was now trapped inside, scratching furiously at the walls but unable to escape.

"Oh, very nice." Akumei clapped. "But what will you do with him now?"

I watched as it glared at me through glowing red eyes and shrugged. "I don't know… How about you just make it disappear?"

"No, solve this problem on your own."

"But you started it…" I muttered as I glared back at the shadow. Sighing, I placed a hand on my forehead to heal the wound there and then looked back at the creature I had trapped. "Fine…" I held my hand towards it and slowly closed it into a fist, the ball growing smaller with my hand. The shadow scrambled frantically around but the ball closed in around it. I reopened my hand suddenly and a black mist rose into the air and disappeared.

"Good job, you've defeated it." Akumei smirked.

"Shut it." I frowned, drawing my sword.

"Oh, you want to fight now?" Akumei asked. My glare answered him and he scrambled to make a copy of himself as I charged forward. "Hey, take it easy!" He yelled as he retreated further away, watching me fight the clone.

I just growled as I swung the sword again and his copy countered. We continued at a face pace and soon my eyes were glowing bright red as I fought. Akumei kept transporting short distances to attack me from behind and it was growing difficult to fight back. My ear twitched as I heard a sound from behind me and I swung with both hands, freezing in shock.

A boy stared back at me, eyes wide. It was Sengoku, the boy who Kamio had beaten in the tennis match I had watched. Before I had time to stop myself, my sword was buried deeply into his side. I pulled back and he fell to his knees and then collapsed fully. My sword clattered to the ground and shrunk down to its regular size.

"I-I didn't mean to! Please be alright!" I screamed as I darted to his side. I rolled him gently onto his back and placed both hands on his side after pulling his shirt up so I could see. I blushed at the sight of his abs but grimly noted how horrible and deep the gash looked. My hands glowed bright green and I saw the wound rapidly healing. I finished and shook his shoulder lightly. "Sengoku… Can you hear me…?" I asked urgently.

His eyes shot open and he jerked upwards, clutching at his side. "What… happened to the cut?" He asked in shock.

"I healed it. I'm very sorry…" I turned towards Akumei. "Please fix his shirt, ok?"

Akumei nodded and kneeled at Sengoku's side, who watched in fascination as Akumei waved a hand over the shirt and it instantly mended.

"Wow, you guys are really… strange…" He murmured. "I guess this was a lucky day. And I got to see a beautiful girl."

"No, it was us who hurt you in the first place…" I frowned, blushing deeper.

"Don't worry about it! No harm done." Sengoku laughed as he got to his feet.

"Um… what were you doing here anyway?" I asked. He went to Yamabuki, a different school.

"Looking for girl- I mean… I got lost." He laughed, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "Well, I better get going…"

"Alright, see you later." I called as he walked away and out of sight. "Akumei!" I screamed.

He flinched. "What did I do now?"

"Don't start fights in public!"

"You were the one who asked for it…"

"Well you were the one who called forth the shadow thing that started it all!"

"Fine, fine… So what do you want to do now?"

I sighed and plopped down on the ground. "I don't know… There's nothing to do here."

"Hey, Kira!"

I turned as someone called my name and saw Oishi jogging towards me. "Yeah?"

He stopped in front of me. "We're going to the beach tomorrow for some extra training. Would you like to come?"

"Um, I… Why are you including me on everything?" I asked.

"Well, because… I know you're going through a hard time and… I want to make sure you're ok and…"

I laughed and nodded. "Alright, I'll go and I'll help you out any way I can."

"Great!" Oishi smiled. "I'll get you from the courts so make sure you're there. I'll know if you don't sleep in the room."

"Yeah, right…" I laughed nervously, waving after him as he left. "Are you up for a beach trip Akumei?" I teased.

"Sure, ok…"

We wondered around the town until nightfall and then returned to the school. I pulled the small key from my pocket and opened the door of the small courtside building, unlocked it, and entered with Akumei trailing behind. Closing and locking it behind me, I sat down on the bench. "Hey Akumei, can you make me some clothes for tomorrow?"

"Sure." He said and waved a hand across me.

"Akumei!" I shrieked, crossing my legs and placing my arms across my chest and stomach. "What are you doing?"

"Getting you appropriate beach clothing." He smirked. I was in a tiny black bikini, my previous t-shirt and shorts sitting on the ground at my feet.

"Change it, now!" I screamed.

"Fine…" The bikini slid off to be replaced by a much less revealing one. It was black with red trimming and covered most of my stomach. Over that appeared a small t-shirt and shorts.

"Thank you." I sighed, gathering the used clothes in a pile and placing them with the skirt and shirt I had saved. I took the key from the pocket and put it into the one of the shorts I was currentlywearing.Stretching out on the bench, Igradually drifted into sleep.

* * *

The next morning I sat up and yawned, rubbing at my eyes. Waking Akumei, we slipped from the house and locked it behind us just in time to see Oishi approaching. "Oh, you're ready." He smiled. "Everyone's over here…" I followed him to see Echizen, Momo, Kaidoh, Fuji, Kikumaru, Kawamura, Tomo, Sakuno, Horio, Kachiro, and Katsuo all gathered around waiting. They greeted us and we all set off for the beach. 

Once we arrived, it only went downhill. Kachiro, Katsuo, and Horio lost the coupon for the hotel so while they looked, we just stared around at the beach. "Running on sand would be very good for the legs." Inui pointed out. "And I heard sea water is good for the body.

Just then Horio, Kachiro, and Katsuo returned but we could tell by their faces that they hadn't found the coupon.

"We came this far, just to return home at the end of the day!" Tomo frowned.

"Why are you two here?" Momo asked, referring to her and Sakuno.

"We came to cheer of course!" Tomo said. "Right Sakuno?

"Yes." Sakuno replied, blushing.

"I understand your situation." We all turned to see a man in robes with bandages covering above and below his eyes, which were hidden by sunglasses.

"You are…?" Oishi asked.

The man pointed to a building. "I'm the manager of that store. If you help out, I'll cover your hotel fee. We're very short on help."

"What should we do?" Oishi asked.

"It's very strange…" Momo added.

"Why not?" Fuji asked. "Experience is everything."

"Really, you'll do it?" The man exclaimed. "Thank you! It's so rare to find young active kids!" He went around shaking the hands of everyone and managed to pull Momo, Oishi, Kawamura, and Kaidoh into a hug. He shook my hand especially long as I just stood there awkwardly, waiting for him to release me. I noticed Echizen glaring out of the corner of my eye.

Soon we were situated around the shop with some selling ice cream in front and the others preparing food in the back. I was stuck wearing a pink apron and going around bringing food to tables. "Hey, where'd Akumei go?" I asked suddenly.

"He said he had something to do." Momo replied as he fixed another ice cream.

"That slacker…" I growled.

"Hey, Echizen's gone too." Horio noted.

"He went to talk with the manager." Kachiro said.

"Here you go, sorry for the wait." I smiled as I set a plate in front of a young man at a table. While doing so, I listened hard for Echizen's voice and finally found it.

"So that's why you're not around the house these days…" Echizen's voice said.

"He asked me to be the manager just for the summer." The man replied. "The fish is good and there are tons of bikini clad women around. I guess this is what heaven on earth is like."

"And the bandages on your face?" Echizen sounded annoyed.

"Oh these? I fell asleep while tanning."

Echizen sighed. "Let's get one thing straight. No one is to know you're my dad." I nearly dropped the ice cream I was holding in surprise.

"Why not? Are there circumstances?" The man asked.

"You embarrass me." Echizen said bluntly.

"What? Where do I embarrass you?"

"Everywhere…"

They were interrupted as Horio went out to see them, explaining that we were out of supplies to make more food. "I'm very sorry. Please be patient…" I said, bowing slightly to a table of angry customers. I turned to stare as Kaidoh and Momo began arguing again, faces almost touching as they yelled. Kawamura tried to stop them but couldn't so Kikumaru tossed him a racket. Kawamura took hold and proceeding in chasing Momo and Kaidoh around, smashing tables in two. Of course, all the people fled and the place was entirely wrecked. Kawamura stood staring in shock at what he had done.

"This is bad, very bad!" The manager cried, rushing out from his hiding place behind the counter. "If this keeps up not just your hotel fees, but even my salary will be in danger!"

"I apologize for my club members…" Oishi said.

"Are you all reflecting upon your mistakes?" The manager asked.

"We are." Everyone nodded.

"Then please do as I say." He started up a contest, saying that if you beat Kaidoh and Echizen in a volleyball match, you would get a free meal. If you won, you win a Hawaiian vacation. Two people came and a match started, which brought others in to watch. They were sold drinks. After a while, a father and son pair who had been beaten by Echizen in tennis before showed up. They played dirty, kicking sand into Echizen's eyes at one point and calling the ball out if it hit near the line, but lost because of Kaidoh and Echizen's strategy of making them run for the ball. The two worked really well with each other. Kaidoh hit a snake shot with the volleyball that slammed into the father's face and Echizen returned that with a hard strike to the son's stomach to end the match.

It turned out the father and son, though rich, had taken the lost hotel coupon, but before anyone could grab it again, it was picked up by the wind and blown out to sea. So, we ended up returning at the end of the day anyway. I managed to find Akumei again before we left.

While walking down the street, we passed a very small, very old man with a bald head and a long white beard at a vending machine. Echizen stopped for a drink and he and the old man tried putting in a coin at the same time. The man's rolled into the street and he went after it as a huge truck was approaching. Echizen darted out and dragged him back onto the sidewalk at the last second.

Everyone gathered around to make sure he was all right and promised to get his money when the light turned red. "Hey all of you, stop it!" Someone shouted.

We turned to see a young boy around Echizen's age but much taller standing a bit further down the sidewalk. He had fairly close shaved dark hair and dark blue eyes. "Stop what?" Momo asked.

"What are your intentions by circling a weak senior citizen on the pedestrian walkway?" He continued angrily. "Aren't you ashamed?" He watched in surprise as everyone began laughing.

"Hey, hey you're mistaken…" Momo said.

Echizen pointed to the money in the road. "Can you see that?"

"What about it?" The boy asked.

The old man pointed from the coin to himself as Oishi explained. "We were just helping out this old man. He tried to get it just as a car was passing by. It was dangerous."

"Is this true, Oji?" The boy questioned. The man nodded and the boy broke out in an extremely embarrassed sweat.

"Your misunderstanding." The man pointed at him.

The boy's face was bright red now. He began bowing and frantically repeating, "Please excuse me! I'm so sorry!"

"Hey, don't worry about it." Oishi smiled.

The boy blushed, frowned, and then turned around waving. "It's ok! They're all nice people!" Four people came out to stand behind the boy who called them and stood staring down the Seigaku members. Fuji recognized the one with shaggy gray hair as Saeki as the old man crossed over to stand with them. "Sae-san, do you know these people?"

"They're Seigaku, our next opponents in the tournament." Saeki replied.

"That's right, they're Rokkaku." Fuji confirmed. All five were wearing the same red jackets and all had tennis bags over their shoulders.

"Did you hear that Ryoma? They're your next opponents." Horio said.

I glanced over to see Echizen drinking from a can, seeming entirely uninterested. The boy however, rushed right over and clasped Echizen's hand around the can he was holding. "You're Ryoma Echizen? Wow, I knew I had seen you somewhere before! Even though I'm a freshman, I'm also a regular. My name is Kentaro Aoi, nice to meet you! Echizen… How exciting! If you could, would you play some light tennis with me?" Though also a freshman, he was a couple feet taller than Echizen, just like everyone else was. He was also the captain due to the strange doings of their coach, the old man.

"Sure." Echizen said uncertainly.

"Really? Tank you so much!" Kentaro exclaimed, bowing continuously.

"Our tennis courts are close by." Oji, the old man said as he pointed down the street.

"That's right, everyone's welcome. This way!" Kentaro yelled and then sprinted down the sidewalk.

We arrived at Oji's wooden workshop since before coaching he was a skilled woodworker. Taking us around back, Saeki showed us the huge playground that the woodworks had been made into, with rope bridges, tire swings, and many other things. Laughing children climbed and ran all over everything.

Upon seeing us, two young boys called out, "Hey, it's Bane!" "Welcome back Davide!"

"We're back and we brought some guests." Bane said as the children crowded around him, tugging on his jacket.

"Guests…?" A small boy echoed as he looked over me, Akumei,and the rest of the Seigaku team.

"Yes and Kentaro's going to have a practice match now."

"He's small… Is he good?"

"I don't know, but I doubt Kentaro will lose."

While Echizen and Kentaro were preparing to play, I followed Saeki with Akumei, Fuji, Kaidoh, and Momo deeper into the playground. "Isn't this amazing?" Fuji began. "Oji built this all by himself. It seems like this playground has grown since I was last here."

"This place is open to the neighborhood children." Saeki explained. "While they play here, they learn how to play tennis."

"Uwaah…" I breathed, looking around. "Can I climb on it?"

Saeki laughed. "If you really want to, it's fine."

Our attention was averted as a young girl ran up holding a box of food. "Bane, Davide! Look what my mommy and me made! Ah-!" She tripped on a rock and started to fall.

Bane ran over and caught her and in the same instant, Davide pulled out his racket and balanced the box on it to keep it from spilling. The racket was near three feet long, which is what really surprised everyone. Then Davide ruined the moment by telling a joke that didn't make any sense at all and then snickering at how funny it was to him.

"What a stupid joke…" Horio murmured.

Davide glared at him. "Who's jokes are not funny?" Then he snickered again.

"Your stupid jokes are really not funny!" Bane yelled, kicking him in the head.

Looking away from them, I turned back towards the playground. "Don't kill yourself." Akumei smirked.

"Shut up, you know I won't." I frowned and then leapt nimbly to the wooden framework. I jumped again and settled on the highest peak, shying away as I noticed Saeki and a bunch of the children, staring at me awestruck. "Hey, uh… What's Kikumaru doing?" I asked, trying to divert their attention. Luckily it worked.

There were wooden poles placed sticking from the ground and Kikumaru was leaping from one to the next, swinging perfectly along ropes, and doing flips over the wooden walls. The crowd of children now watching him burst into applause upon his completion of the course. "Do it again!" One yelled.

"Alright, watch this." Kikumaru began along it again but soon one of the boys from Rokkaku, with shaggy brown hair and a rather large nose followed awkwardly after him.

The boy, Itsuki, exhaled through his nose and asked, "Hey, why are you so springy?" Then he blew through his nose again as he followed Kikumaru onto the next section of the playground. "Hey, why?"

"And you, why do you keep blowing from your nose?" Kikumaru shot back.

"Oh!" Itsuki cried. "You're the first person to ask me why! Why do you ask questions? Hey, hey. Why, why?"

"And you, why?" Kikumaru returned, moving onto the tire section with Itsuki close behind. They kept this up for a while.

Finally, Kentaro yelled out. "Hey, we're going to start!" Everyone, including the children, swarmed to the tennis court.

After a while, we began to notice that no matter where Echizen hit it, Kentaro would always return the ball to the same spot. Even though it was supposed to be just for fun, the match quickly became serious.

"Echizen, I watched your match against Hyotei!" Kentaro yelled while playing. "Please be as fired up as that time! You're supposed to be a much more amazing player! Get more pumped up, or else I won't have a reason to play well!

"What do you mean by that?" Echizen asked as he returned another ball.

"You know what I'm talking about!" Kentaro replied as he hit one back as well. "I'll be waiting for you in singles three of the semi-finals! You heard me, singles three!"

After a while, we all said our goodbyes and boarded a train to get back. On the way, Echizen stood and turned to Oishi. "Senpai, please put me in singles three."

After he sat back down Oishi laughed. "He means business."

* * *

"Come on Akumei, I want to watch!" I called as I made my way to the tennis courts. 

"Why are you so interested in that stupid game?" Akumei frowned.

"I know them so now I like to see who wins."

"Can't you just ask afterwards?"

"It's not the same, now come on!" It was a Sunday morning and I was dragging Akumei to the semi-finals to watch Seigaku play the team we had met yesterday, Rokkaku. Once I got him to come, we arrived quickly at the courts and saw a crowed gathered around a bus. I went closer as I saw some kids I recognized from the playground getting off. Shortly after, the Rokkaku team unloaded as well. I watched as the kids marched over to Momo, Fuji, Kawamura, and Inui, who I had just noticed were there.

"No matter how much you investigate you won't beat Rokkaku." One of the kids said confidently.

"Investigate?" Momo asked.

"Weren't you investigating during the match with Kentaro?" Another kid asked.

"But that time you're captain was-" Momo began.

"Kentaro won't lose!" The same kid screamed.

"But…" Momo faltered.

Fuji stepped forward to break the tension and bent down to the boy's height. "Do you like tennis?"

"We'll be a part of Rokkaku next year." The boy replied. "If you guys are going to be around next year, I might even let you play us."

"Let us play you?" Momo echoed angrily.

Fuji just smiled. "I don't think next year will work since we're graduating and all, but it would be nice if we played someday."

"We definitely won't lose." The boy said again. Fuji laughed slightly as the gang of children walked away.

"Hey guys." I called as I approached the four.

We jogged back towards the courts and I was talked into wearing a ribbon around my head to support Seigaku. As the two teams faced each other on the court before the game began, Itsuki started asking questions again. He asked Kikumaru why he always wore a bandage on his cheek and Kaidoh why he always wore his bandana and if it was because it was cool. Fuji was asked why he smiled all the time. Then he asked why their captain wasn't there.

Finally, it started with Seigaku's Kawamura and Momo against Rokkaku's Davide and Bane. Bane took the first serve and his very first hit slammed Kawamura so hard in the stomach that it knocked him over. Davide scored the next point with his long racket, easily returning both Momo and Kawamura's best shots. Next, to return Kawamura's strongest shot, the Hadoukyo,Bane leapt up and batted the ball with his normal sized racket, landing balanced on one foot. Pretty soon they were behind five games to zero. Realizing this, Momo and Kawamura began pushing even harder and finally won a game.

Momo began scoring point after point, winning another two games, by using mind games and reading what the opponent was going to do next. Then he'd hit a shot to confuse them and catch them off guard. I had never seen Momo's face more serious than it was then. Suddenly, as Kawamura was serving, he shouted, "Taka-san, do it now!"

Kawamura bent low with one hand on the ground and one arm stretched behind him. Then, darting forward, he hit the ball so hard it knocked the rackets from both Davide and Bane's hands and then lodged itself in a self made dent in the fence. This was his move called the dash hadoukyo. Kawamura collapsed to the ground, exhausted from using it.

From then on, Bane and Davide remained paranoid about Kawamura using that move again and it caused them to make mistakes. The last play of the match was Davide hitting it out of bounds to give Momo and Kawamura the final win needed. It was then that Kawamura let them know that if he used that shot twice in a game he'd have broken his wrist.

Next Fuji and Kikumaru went out on the court to play against Saeki and Itsuki. Kentaro took Oji's place as bench coach so he'd be able to see the match better and cheered them on from there. Fuji and Kikumaru took the first three games without giving up a point but Saeki had spent that time watching Kikumaru's moves and had figured out a way to tell what direction Kikumaru would hit the ball each time by reading his muscle movements. Then he proceeded in hitting opposite of where Kikumaru was heading. Fuji kept trying to cover for him, but Saeki only aimed towards Kikumaru. After a couple games, Kikumaru figured out a way to return the balls by running to the left and back to the ball within time to hit it but this also tired himself out so he was unable to return it again in the next games. Fuji took over and tried to use one of his special movies, the tsubame gaeshi, but Itsuki kept hitting balls with no spin, sinkers, so it wouldn't work. Instead, the two just kept hitting back and forth within a two foot wide area.

"This is… crazy." I sighed to myself, shaking my head. "Tennis is so insane! At least when it's these guys playing…" I jumped as Akumei slumped against me from where he was standing against the fence next to me. I frowned but slowly lowered myself down, bringing him with me, and sat crossed legged on the ground as he leaned against my side. Then I focused on the game again as Fuji positioned himself to hit another tsubame gaeshi.

"It's impossible, Fuji!" Oishi yelled.

Everyone froze as we watched the ball roll across Fuji's racket before he hit it back to perform the spin needed to hit a tsubame gaeshi. I watched wide eyed as the ball hit and then seemed to roll across the ground. Then Itsuki crouched down as the ball began to rise a few inches and smashed it back, hitting the net. Inui explained that it had floated a bit because it had not gotten the necessary spin needed. The next time it happened, Itsuki returned it cleanly but Fuji returned it with another tsubame gaeshi, this time turning the racket so the ball rolled from the bottom to top along the net. Still Itsuki returned it perfectly.

I frowned as Saeki said something to Fuji and instead turned my attention on Kikumaru who was standing in the middle of the court with his eyes closed. My ear twitched under the bandana and I could make out his slow counting under his breath. _What's he doing…?_ I thought as I adjusted Akumei against me.

"Itsuki's the only one who can hit a sinker, right?" Horio asked. "So why doesn't Fuji aim towards Saeki?"

"Because…" Momo answered. "That would mean running away from a duel against Itsuki. Unless he beats the sinker, the tsubame gaeshi won't mean anything."

I looked back at the court as the ball hit by Itsuki skidded across the top of the net. This time Fuji returned it with a perfect tsubame gaeshi that hit the ground and then rolled across, causing Itsuki to swing right over it. Everyone's mouths fell open as it happened another time.

"By hitting the net, the ball got the necessary spin." Inui explained.

Saeki's eyes followed Fuji's every move until he detected the habit Fuji did to make Itsuki hit the net. "Don't hit the net!" He cried.

"Ok!" Itsuki nodded and hit a lob high into the air and over Fuji's head.

Fuji just smiled as I heard Kikumaru steadily counting. Suddenly he threw back his head and said "one hundred." He ran back and jumped into the air behind Fuji, smashing the ball back for the match winning point. Itsuki and Saeki had totally forgotten about him and stared in shock as he did a flip and landed.

In the short break between matches, everyone watched as the freshman Kentaro started stretching and walking on his hands. Then he did a flip and landed on his feet, smiling at Echizen. "It's our turn next. Show me your true form."

Echizen stared at him and tugged on his hat. "I don't like that kind of stuff." He stopped by Kaidoh on his way to the court. "I'm sorry senpai, this will it for today. You won't get to play."

"You're annoying. Just go." Kaidoh glared.

On his way to the court, Kentaro pulled out a racket with a hexagonal frame and strings, one that his coach Oji had made.

As they stood across from each other shaking hands, Kentaro said, "win or lose, let's have a good match."

"You know what?" Echizen frowned.

"What?"

"Your voice is really loud."

"It's just that I'm really happy you're in singles three like you promised!" Kentaro explained happily, pumping Echizen's hand up and down. "Let's go all out today."

Echizen served with a twist served but Kentaro returned it even though he looked about to fall over. "That's a magnificent serve Echizen!" He acknowledged his next hit as well. "You're return is good too!" Even though he had to run back and forth and return while off balance, Kentaro kept returning the ball to the same small area every time. "Echizen, you need to get more pumped up!" He cried. "It's not fun unless you're serious!" Echizen stared as Kentaro lobbed a ball up into the air. "Here you go!" Echizen had to rush back and barely returned it in time. Kentaro took a running leap and still hit the ball back to the same spot as all the others.

"Must be humiliating, right Echizen?" Fuji recognized.

"Are you saying Echizen's being toyed with?" Momo asked.

Fuji nodded. "So it would seem.

Echizen tried to mess him up by hitting a lob, but Kentaro leapt into the air and was able to return it from the tip of the net and still keep control because of the hexagonal strings of his racket. "Depending on where the impact is, the racket deforms differently." Inui explained to the confused crowd. "As a result, no matter where the ball hits the racket, it's made to return with a hard hit."

Kentaro hit another lob to Echizen, inviting him to use a special move. Echizen attempted a drive B, where he hits the ball and it bounces twice quickly as if making a B. Kentaro easily returned it for a point. He returned Echizen's serve by leaping forward and doing a flip after hitting it, all to increase his speed with his weight. He was able to quickly get back to return a deep hit and then barely missed the next one at the net, allowing Echizen to get a point. Next Echizen hit another drive B that Kentaro returned but Echizen was waiting at the net and hit it back while Kentaro was still in the air to make the game count three to three.

"You're amazing Echizen!" Kentaro cried. "This is the first time I've played such a match."

"Thanks." Echizen replied indifferently.

"You've shown me my weakness." Kentaro went on. "I'll be more careful from now on. The more tennis I play the more fun it gets. Let's play to our hearts content, Echizen!" He finished, leaning down and grinning in Echizen's face.

He flinched away. "I… see…"

The match continued and with neither giving up points, three hours passed by and the sun began setting. With it almost entirely down, Kentaro scored a point to tie it at four games each when the referee called both coaches over.

Both teams assembled in the center of the court as the ref explained. "The match will stop because of sunset. It will resume tomorrow morning at 9:30."

I remained sitting on the ground as I waved goodbye to the others. With a sigh, I looked down at Akumei who was still leaning against me in a peaceful sleep. Not feeling like fighting to wake him up, and with nothing else to do, I turned around slowly so my back was to the fence and let myself fall asleep as well.

A few hours later, I awoke to the sounds of someone playing tennis. I mumbled as I rubbed my back, feeling the imprint of the chain link fence there and looked over my shoulder threw it. Echizen and Kentaro were playing even though it was still dark. I watched in silence as the sun began to rise yet they never once stopped. I remained still as they finally walked away together and followed at a slight distance, watching as they got some drinks from the soda machine and sat down in the grass. Soon they were asleep next to each other, surrounded by cans and tennis equipment. I smiled to myself and returned to Akumei to wait for everyone else.

* * *

After they arrived, I followed them to where Echizen and Kentaro were sleeping and grinned to myself as Kawamura managed to wake them up. Echizen sat up yawning and stretching while Kentaro sat bolt upright and dashed off to find his team. After sitting in a daze, his coach yelled at him to go wash his face so Echizen ran away as well. 

Each awake and refreshed, Kentaro and Echizen returned to the court and yesterday's game resumed. After winning the first game to make it five to four, Kentaro began making Echizen run back and forth from corner to corner, greatly tiring him out since it was another long game like yesterday.

Oishi watched Kentaro score another point and frowned. "Who'd have thought their freshman would be this good?" He turned to Kaidoh. "Hey, go warm up!" Kaidoh didn't move. "Kaidoh, I said go warm up!"

"That's won't be necessary." Kaidoh replied, still not moving. "That brat will come through for sure. That's the kind of guy Echizen is."

We all turned back to watch as Echizen turned the game around so he was the one forcing Kentaro to run. Then he ran forward, skidding on his feet and but towards the net and hitting the ball from his side at the end. It bounced three times before Kentaro even moved.

"A normal drive B impacts too high so the high bounce was targeted." Fuji explained. This drive B was hit by lowering his stance as much as possible."

"Furthermore…" Inui continued. "By lowering his stance, his take off is more explosive which gives the ball that much more speed."

"You're amazing Echizen." Kentaro exclaimed. "This is the first match that has made me this excited."

"Want to get even more excited?" Echizen smirked.

The game continued with them always staying within a point of each other until finally it was match point. Echizen got it with his new form of the drive B and won the match six games to four.

I congratulated the guys on their win, laughing as Kentaro immediately began asking Echizen if they could play again later. He even asked if they could start a practice match right then! But Echizen refused saying he was going to sleep.

After the two teams were done talking, Oishi approached me as I was trying to awaken Akumei again. "Need any help?" He laughed.

I smiled and shook my head as I stood to face him. "No, I think I'll manage."

"Alright… Well, we have plans tomorrow so will you be alright on your own?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Besides, Akumei's with me! And I can't invade on everything the team does."

Oishi looked hesitant but then smiled again. "Ok, thanks. I'll see you later!"

I returned his wave as he wondered away and turned back to the snoozing Akumei. "All you ever do is sleep!" I whined, crouching beside him and pinching his arm. He stirred slightly but otherwise remained the same. "Wake… up!" I shouted, slapping both sides of his face at once.

"W-what?" He sat bold upright, staring around wildly.

"You sleep too much." I said simply, trying to suppress an amused smile as I began walking away.

"That doesn't mean you can hit me!" He pouted, rubbing his face.

"Well how else was I supposed to get you to move?" I asked and he remained silent, without an answer. "Let's go find something to do…"

"I have an idea." Akumei said suddenly, grabbing my wrists and tugging me around to face him. He pulled me closer and smirked as I eyed him apprehensively.

"What are you doin-?" My voice turned into a bark and I realized with a start that I was now looking up at Akumei. I growled and attempted to change back but couldn't. _What did you do?_ I thought in a panic. He smirked and turned to walk away. Angrily, I bit his shirt and held him there. _Change me back!_ I yelped as a spark leapt from him and stung my nose.

"No." He said smugly and turned to go again.

Growling, I followed close behind him. _…I hate you._ I thought to him.

"I hate you too." He chuckled.

After a while of trailing behind him, we entered a park. A group of kids immediately swarmed me, calling to Akumei. "Hey mister, is this your dog?"

"Yes, she is." Akumei answered, smirking at me.

"Can we pet her?"

"Of course!" I sat helplessly letting the children pet me all over, unwilling to lash out at any of them.

"What kind of dog is she?" One of the kids asked.

"Well…" Akumei frowned uncertainly. "She's a mix…"

"Of what?"

"…dog and wolf."

"Is that why she's so big?"

"Yeah." Akumei grinned, patting my head. "Pretty isn't she?" The kids soon left and I glared at him scornfully as a man came up to us.

"Excuse me, is that your dog?"

"Yes, it is." Akumei nodded.

"You'll need to keep it on a leash if you want to have it out here." I flinched every time I was referred to as "it".

"Oh right…

Sorry." Akumei said, reaching behind his back. When he pulled his hand back out, in it was a dark blue collar and leash. I eyed him apprehensively but allowed him to buckle the collar around my neck and then attach the leash.

"Thank you." The man said and then left rather quickly.

I had seen him eying me strangely. Maybe he was afraid? I shrugged and glared at Akumei. _Well, master, where are you taking me now?_ I thought, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Akumei just laughed and tugged on the leash until I finally gave in and followed. We went towards the broad, fast river and walked along the back. Soon he pulled me down the steep, grass coveredslope to the flat bit at the bottom that led into the water. Staying on the dry part, we walked along until we found a bridge that we stopped underneath. _What are we doing here?_ I thought.

"We've never been here before… I wanted to wonder around some and this is where I ended up." He replied as he sat down against the slope under the bridge. I watched him silently for a while and then ran over to the grassy ground and rolled around in it on my back. "What are you doing?" Akumei laughed.

_My back itches…_ I pouted, sitting back up.

"Come here then." He ordered. I frowned and stayed put. With a soft chuckle, Akumei held up a hand towards me and long ropes shot out and wound themselves around me, dragging me towards him. I fought it but soon realized it was useless and gave up. I ended up by his side as he laughed again. "You don't have to always be so on edge! I think of you more as a sister than anything, so doing anything would be really disgusting."

Hearing this, I bit the hand he reached towards me and turned to walk away but was pulled right back again. "Calm down!" He smiled, running his hand down my back. I shivered and he smirked slightly, pulling me more to him. "Admit that you like it and I'll stop." I shook my head and didn't respond as he began rubbing my ears. My tongue rolled out of my mouth and my eyes closed as I lay across his lap. He unhooked the leash from the collar and set it aside, leaning back but still scratching me gently as he sat in thought.

A while later I awoke with a start to find I was still lying across Akumei's lap, with him now asleep. I stood up slowly and stretched myself out, next trying to change back to my normal form and failing once again. "What's wrong?" Akumei asked suddenly, causing me to jump.

I glared at him. _You know perfectly well…_ I growled.

"Aw, is that any way to thank me for yesterday?" He smirked but my gaze didn't let up. "Fine, fine…" He sighed and instantly I felt myself changing back. "Just kidding!" He cried and I shrunk back into a wolf. He saw my face and froze, quickly recovering and scrambling up the hill as I lunged at him.

_Change me back! _I screamed as I a took off after him, quickly gaining. We raced all the way back to the park before I finally leapt and managed to land on his back, sending his face colliding with the ground.

"I give, I give!" Akumei cried, covering his head with his hands as I stood growling on his back.

"Oh my god, are you ok?" I heard someone scream and turned around in time to be grabbed forcefully from behind and lifted from Akumei. Several hands held my collar and I couldn't manage to slip out of it. "Are you alright?" Another man asked, helping Akumei up.

Akumei laughed, causing the surrounding faces to fall into bewilderment. "Of course! Can't I wrestle with my dog in peace?"

"You… wanted that? Looked like it was about to kill you!"

"Nah, she wouldn't do that." Akumei smiled, patting my head. I forced myself to wag my tail happily in response.

"Are you… sure?" Another man asked. I felt the hands loosen on my collar and slipped around behind Akumei, watching the group warily from there.

"Yes, I'm sure." Akumei nodded, fastening the leash to my collar once again. "Sorry for bothering you all." He turned and left, humming to himself as I walked at his side, leaving the group of men in a dazed confusion.

After we were safely clear of the park, I turned to face Akumei. _Now turn me back. What if something else happens?_

Akumei sighed but the smirk shone through. "Fine…"

I felt myself growing taller, hair disappearing and growing from my head instead, ears and tail remaining, and paws forming into hands and feet. I smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem. Now… fight me!"

I looked around and realized we were by the river again so no one was around. "Ok…" I frowned and drew my sword.

He whipped his out as well and charged me but I easily blocked it and kicked him in the stomach. He grinned and came at me again. He lunged forward with the sword and I spun to the side, dodging and bringing a hand down to claw his wrist. He bit his lip and lunged again. This time, however, when I made to jumped out of the way, two ropes wound their way around my legs. "What the-" I cried but was rooted in place. I swung my sword upwards and knocked his away just before it hit me.

"How will you get out of this situation?" He yelled as he lunged yet again.

"You know that's getting pretty old!" I shouted back, gasping as a hidden dagger flew out to stab deep into my right shoulder. I gritted my teeth and made to knock his sword away again anyway, but my arm was too weak. My sword fell to the ground with a clatter as his rammed straight through my stomach. I gasped for air, not receiving any, and fell to my knees and then to my side.

I felt the ropes slither away from my legs and stared with wide eyes as Akumei hovered over me. "You didn't put up much of a fight there…" He frowned. "Were you thinking I'd be as simple as those clones of mine you've been defeating? Now… How will you get out of this?"

I stared blankly at him as his voice began to sound very distant but I saw the blade coming down towards me very clearly. Instantly a transparent green bubble sprang up around me. Akumei started attacking it forcefully as I placed a glowing hand on my stomach. I breathed a jagged sigh of relief as I felt the warmth spreading throughout me and rapidly healing the wound. "No fair…!" Akumei frowned.

"All's fair in love and _war_." I retorted weakly as I shakily got to my feet, holding a still lightly bleeding stomach. Pooled around my feet was blood, being added to every second by the liquid running down my arm. I picked up my sword again, slippery in the wet hand, and glared at Akumei. I felt dizzy from using so much energy after having not used it in a while. I flinched as Akumei pounded on the shield again and then let it fade altogether.

He charged at once and I cried out in pain as I blocked with my sword. Without even thinking, I summoned an energy sword to my left hand and swung at him while he was focusing on the other. He dodged at the last second so I only managed to tear a strip from his shirt. "W-why are you attacking so seriously?" I gasped out.

"You seem to be out of practice…" Akumei responded, charging again.

I leapt to the side, batting his sword down with my own so it stuck deep into the ground. As he passed, I slammed him hard with the flat of my real sword to send him falling to his face on the ground. He started to get back to his feet but I held both swords to his neck and stepped one foot on his back. "I am _not_ out of practice." I growled.

"Alright, you've proven your point." Akumei frowned nervously. "Do you want to get off of me now?"

Instead of stepping back, I stumbled back, falling to sit in a huddled lump as I let the spirit sword fade and instead focused on healing myself. I fully fixed the stomach wound and got my shoulder to a slight trickle before turning to Akumei. "Why did you injure me so badly…?" My voice faded as I collapsed to my side, unconscious.

Akumei just smiled and leaned me against the sloping hill. He held a hand out and frowned as huge raindrops hit it and stared from the dark and gray sky to the river. _It might overflow the banks if we wait here…_ He frowned as he scooped me into his arms and made his way to the school where we had been staying. It began to pour as we entered school grounds and he broke into a sprint for the rest of the distance, pausing in front of the locked door. He froze and then hesitantly reached into my pocket for the key. I stirred once but didn't wake up and he got the door open. Laying me across the bench, he waved a hand over me and my wet clothes fell to the side to be replaced by long, loose pants and a black shirt with very thin straps. He slid the right strap a bit down my arm to get a look at the shoulder I hadn't finished healing. Wincing guiltily at the sight, he fished around the room until he found a first aid kit and began wrapping it. "Good night, feel better soon." He whispered and leaned himself against the wall, soon falling asleep as well.

He awoke early the next morning to the sounds of quiet whimpering. "Kira…?" He asked.

I hid my face further in my hands and turned away from him. "I-I'm fine."

"You are not fine, now tell me what's wrong." Akumei ordered as he moved to the seat beside me.

There was a long pause before I finally whispered, "I-I miss them... I miss them all so much!" I raised my head and faced him. "Do you know how long it's been? Twelve days! Twelve days spent just at this one place! What if something happened to that girl and we're stuck here forever!"

"Don't worry…" He said, rubbing my back comfortingly. "She'll get us back, I know it."

"Hey… Why can't you just transport us back? And why can't you tell her how you controlled where I went like last time?"

"Because if two people are transporting the same person around, it just becomes a huge mess. Also, she has to realize how to do it on her own. It's not something that can be taught."

"Why not?" I cried out. "Why can't you! I just want… I just want to go home…"

"I know …" Akumei sighed, taking me into his arms and holding me to him as he rubbed my back. I buried my face into his chest and eventually cried myself back to sleep.

* * *

"Come on Akumei, I need to do something to cheer myself up!" 

"Alright, but you don't have to walk so fast…"

I led the way down random streets and stumbled across a tennis court. I was going to just head right past, but froze as I saw who was there. Kaidoh and Momo were on the court facing Kajimoto and Mizuki, two players they had previously played in the tournament. Kajimoto's coach Hanamura stood by watching as well as Echizen, Kikumaru, and the Seigaku freshmen.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked as I walked over and sat on the wall behind Kikumaru.

"Ah, Kira! They made a deal that if Momo and Kaidoh lose, then Kaidoh has to join Mizuki at St. Rudolph and Momo join Hanamura Sensei at Jyousei Shounan!"

"Are you… serious?" I blinked as I turned to watch.

Kajimoto served first, tossing the ball in the air and then bending so far back his head almost touched the ground before springing up again to hit it. Kaidoh hit it back and Momo returned Mizuki's next hit, but the one after, both of them ran for it and the collided, letting the ball pass.

"Kajimoto, just follow my strategy. We'll win for sure." Mizuki said and Kajimoto nodded and hit it down the middle again. Momo and Kaidoh stopped this time before running into each other and let the ball get by again. They realized the ball was being aimed down the center, but instead of working together, would jump in front of the other to hit it back first. Doing this, they lost the first game.

As they were switching sides, Momo yelled, "Hey Kaidoh! Quit getting in my way! What happened to your boomerang snake?"

"Well, let's see your dunk smash!" Kaidoh screamed back.

"Stupid." Momo muttered. "How can I hit a Dunk with a low ball like that?"

"Well, I can't hit a boomerang from the center of the court…" Kaidoh retorted.

And then they both realized it: Aiming low and to the center was not to throw off their combination, but instead to seal their special attacks. "If this keeps up, both of them will have to leave Seigaku!" The freshman cried.

"We can't do anything about it." Echizen said, walking to stand behind them on the bleachers. "It doesn't look like either of them wants to win."

"What did you say?" Kaidoh asked.

"Don't want to win, you say?" Momo added.

"What are you talking about Echizen?" Horio questioned. "Are you saying it's ok for them to go to a different school?"

"Doesn't matter. Isn't that better? If that happens, they won't have to face losing horribly in the finals."

I turned my attention back to Momo and Kaidoh as the game started again. Suddenly, the pace changed so Mizuki and Kajimoto were only hitting shots that Momo and Kaidoh could do their special moves from. They were finally working together perfectly, affected by Echizen's words. Finally, Momo slammed a Jack Knife through that knocked the rackets from Kajimoto and Mizuki's hands.

"Game and match to Seigaku's Momoshiro-Kaidoh!" Kikumaru exclaimed.

"Nice!" Momo and Kaidoh cried, clasping hands and then abruptly letting go as they realized again that they hated each other.

"Er… It's not really because of you." Momo said uneasily.

"I know." Kaidoh replied. "We just didn't… want to lose."

I smiled and sprang from the wall, walking down the stairs as Akumei followed me. Mizuki and Kajimoto where there talking. "Those two ruined my strategy again…" Mizuki sighed.

"Just as expected from Seigaku, eh?" Kajimoto nodded.

"But Kajimoto, you're really something." Mizuki went on.

"Mizuki, don't tell me you were collecting my data during the match…"

"So what if I did?"

I walked up smiling. "Good game you two."

Kajimoto turned around. "Oh, Kira!" He laughed slightly. "We got crushed though…"

"Well not at the beginning!" I replied, seeing that he had instantly looked first at the bandana still covering my ears and then at the tail around my waist. I resisted the urge to cover my head as Mizuki followed his gaze.

"Hello." He said confidently. "I don't believe we've met before?"

"Well, I've seen you once but we didn't really talk…" I extended a hand. "I'm Kira."

"I'm Mizuki." He replied with a sly grin, taking my hand in his. I blushed uneasily, ears twitching under the cloth as Hanamura's voice rang out. "Let's go home, Kajimoto!"

"Yes, Sensei!" He called, turning back to Mizuki and me. "I'll see you later." Then he jogged down the stairs.

"Bye!" I called after him and then gently slipped my hand out of Mizuki's grasp while he was distracted.

"So…" He asked. "Are you new around here…? Oh, I remember! You're the demon!"

I flinched. "What? Who told you?" I glared at Akumei as he burst out laughing.

"Fuji did. I asked who you were the first time I saw you almost two weeks ago."

"And he told you straight forward that I was a demon?" I frowned.

"Yes." Mizuki nodded. "Why do you have it hidden?"

"Would you like to walk around with everyone staring at you like some freak?" I asked bitterly.

"I'm not staring."

"That's because they're not show-" I was cut off as he reached out and snatched the bandana from my head. "Hey!"

He laughed as he reached out to touch one. "I think they're cool."

"Thanks…" I sighed.

"So, is he your boyfriend?" He asked, nodding towards Akumei.

"No! Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I exclaimed.

Mizuki laughed. "Because he's following you around everywhere."

I frowned and stared up towards the sky. "Well, the sun's beginning to set. I have to go."

"Want me to walk you home?" Mizuki asked.

"What? No, it's ok. Thanks though…" I smiled. "I'll see you later!"

"Alright…" He replied as we went our separate ways.

Once he was far out of sight, I turned to Akumei. "I didn't find anything to really do…"

"Well you shouldn't have stopped to watch that game." Akumei commented.

"But I wanted to…" I frowned as he came upon the small building we were staying in. I took a place on the bench and stared at the wall until I drifted into sleep.

* * *

The next day was spent wandering around aimlessly. I passed Oishi at one point and he told me that the finals of the tournament were tomorrow. "Will you come support us?" He asked. 

"Of course!" I nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you there. I'm sorry, but I have something else to do."

"It's ok, I'll see you later!" I called as he ran off. I grinned at Akumei as he gave an exasperated sigh, unwilling to watch them tomorrow. "Well you don't have to come." I said and he remained silent.

In the middle of the night, I woke up, hearing noises outside. I stretched and yawned, next poking my head out the door. I smiled and went soundlessly next to the fence to sit and watched. Momo, Kaidoh, Echizen, Oishi, Fuji, Kawamura, and Kikumaru were all playing at the courts, with Inui off to the side taking notes in his journal, practicing for tomorrow matches.

After a while, Oishi tapped me on the shoulder, causing me to jolt awake. He laughed at my sudden movement. "We're ready to go."

"Oh, sorry…" I yawned, standing up to stretch. I got Akumei from the building where he was still sleeping, and followed Oishi and the rest on a bus that we rode to the courts. There was a slightly uneasy tension in the air the entire ride so I remained as silent as the rest of them.

Finally, we arrived at the school only to be met by a sudden on pour of rain. We all rushed under a sheltered area with picnic tables spread around underneath and hid from the rain while the two team's coaches talked about the match.

"Oh man, it was sunny when we left school…" Kikumaru moaned, laying his head in his arms on a table.

"The probability of rain was fifty percent." Inui remarked. "There's a possibility that the match will commence if the rain clears and the court dries up. But, I think that it will most likely stay like this."

After a while of sitting still, Momo leapt up and grabbed his racket. He began swinging it around rapidly, shouting, "Why did it have to rain? I was so psyched up!"

"Getting mad won't make it clear up any sooner." Echizen murmured, opening a can of juice.

"What was that?" Momo muttered agitatedly but Echizen simply ignored him and took a sip.

"Echizen's right." Fuji nodded. "The match won't start even if you are all annoyed."

They turned to watch me as I ran around in the rain, doing cartwheels, laying down, jumping in puddles, and generally soaking myself entirely, yet this didn't serve to lighten their mood at all. Kaidoh stood stretching out his legs while Kikumaru moved restlessly. Oishi kept tapping his arm impatiently with Inui reading his notebook beside him. Momo remained standing off to one side, racket in hand. Everyone else was sitting around the table. I sighed and leapt nimbly to sit on top of the shelter, staring upwards into the rain as a round of thunder clashed overhead.

I looked back down as I heard footsteps approaching and quickly forced the wet and sagging bandana back onto my head. Seeing who it was, I smiled and slid back down to the ground.

"Hey, how are you all doing?" Kamio asked, the girl Ann walking alongside him.

"Hi!" She waved, happily smiling. Everyone's head shot up at once to stare.

"Hey, it's Fudomine." Kikumaru said.

"What's up? Did you come to cheer for us?" Momo asked.

"Moron!" Kamio frowned. "We're here to gather information."

"O-on us?" Momo stammered.

"On Rikkaidai, obviously." Kamio muttered. "We'll get revenge at the Nationals for the humiliation we suffered at the semi-finals here!"

"That's why I wanted to record the match and show it to my brother." Ann held up her video camera. "But it looks like it's going to be postponed."

Fuji stood and faced her. "How's Tachibana's condition?"

"That…" Ann's voice trailed off as she frowned.

Suddenly, Kaidoh stopped his ceaseless stretching and stood, turning around, and glowering to the side. Everyone turned to follow his gaze as a brilliant flash of lightening lit three boys all standing in the rain, facing us. One had shaggy black hair with a constant arrogant smirk on his face. The one in the middle, their captain, wore a baseball cap, hiding his straight brown hair, and a perfectly straight face. The last had his brown hair in a type of bowl cut and was also staring blankly.

Oishi got to his feet, frowning now as well. "Rikkaidai…"

"So that's the Rikkaidai we're playing in the finals…" One of the freshmen, Kachiro, murmured.

"They have such an amazing aura!" Horio added.

"Kirihara…" Kamio muttered. The black haired boy laughed lightly as Kamio and Ann glared hatefully at him.

"Akaya Kirihara…" Oishi murmured. "He's the one who caused Tachibana's injury."

"Yeah." Fuji said simply, though I saw his face darken.

There was a long silence, broken by Rikkaidai's captain. "Let's go." He and the other brown haired guy turned to go, but Kirihara advanced on his own towards the rest of us.

"It's been a while, Seigaku." He said, coming to a halt right in front of Fuji. "Syuusuke Fuji… With Tezuka not around, you're Seigaku's ace. I hope you'll at least put up a little resistance in our game."

"What was that, you jerk?" Momo screamed, raising the racket he still held over his head and coming at Kirihara. Fuji quickly raised his arm and placed it between them. "Fuji-senpai…"

Fuji still glared evenly at Kirihara. "I don't know if we'll be playing today, but let's have a good match."

Kirihara just smirked in Kamio and Ann's direction. "Fudomine, is it? You came to ask Seigaku to get your revenge?"

"There are still the Nationals." Kamio answered straight faced. "It won't go the way it did last time."

"I can't wait." Kirihara closed his eyes. "If you give me another screwed game, I'll feel so unsatisfied."

"Screwed game?" Ann echoed and leapt at him, but Kamio held her back.

"Getting injured during a game is proof that it was screwed."

"You're the one who caused him to get injured!" Ann pointed furiously at him, still straining to get away from Kamio. "It's your fault my brother's in the hospital!"

Kirihara looked away and smiled. "Not only Seigaku, but now Fudomine has a retired captain too. Tachibana and Tezuka must have been practicing way too lightly."

Before I realized what I was doing, I had tried rushing him, but Akumei caught hold of my arm. I glared at him, sighed, and then turned back towards Kirihara. Akumei, however, did not let me go.

"What did you say?" Momo screamed, lunging at him in my place.

"Calm down Momo!" Oishi shouted, grabbing him and struggling to keep him back.

Kirihara held his ground with Momo reaching towards him in rage. "An injury during the match is the person's own fault. He must not have been properly prepared." He looked back towards Fuji. "I'd like to have a real match with you."

"Same here." Fuji replied shortly.

"But really victory will be Rikkaidai's anyway." Kirihara went on.

"I wonder. We won't know until we play." Fuji locked eyes with him as everyone looked on uneasily. I had never seen Fuji so… intense.

"Kirihara." We all looked over to see Rikkaidai's captain standing there.

"Sanada." Kirihara smirked.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and come to the meeting place."

"I'll be right there." Kirihara turned his face towards everyone again. "I was just introducing myself."

Momo stepped forward as Kirihara went to stand with his captain, Sanada. "Hold it, Rikkaidai. Would it be all right if I said a few words? Since your player gave us a piece of his mind."

Sanada stared at Kirihara who just smirked back, and then looked towards Momo. "I do not know what he said, nor is it going to be necessary to know."

"What did you say?" Momo shouted as Kirihara's smirk grew wider.

"It is something you will understand when you play us." Sanada continued. "Without Tezuka you have no chance of beating us. And even if you had Tezuka, the result would be the same." With that, the two walked off.

Once they were out of sight, Momo kicked a support column of the shelter angrily as he swung around his racket violently. "I will never forgive those guys!"

"Calm down Momo." Oishi crossed his arms. "You're playing into their game."

"It seems Kirihara's even more intimidating that the last time we saw him." Inui commented.

"I won't be content until I kick his ass!" Momo screamed. "Let's hurry up and get this match going!" He raised his head to the sky. "Damn rain, stop already!"

Their coach, Ryuzaki walked up holding a pink umbrella over her head. "Calm down." Everyone's attention focused on her. "The officials have made a decision. The match has been postponed for a week."

"This little rain is nothing." Momo frowned. "Let's have the match, the match!"

Ryuzaki glance at him. "Enough, it's the official's decision.

As everyone began filing back onto the bus, a gust of wind swept the bandana from my head. I grabbed at it but missed as it was carried further away. I whimpered and then turned to Akumei. "Go back without me. I'll catch up!" I called as I darted after it.

He frowned but boarded the bus anyway, eager to escape the rain. A ways off, the bandana sunk low enough for me to jump up and snatch it from the air. I landed and tied it back around my head, looking up as I heard noises. Quietly, I crept towards a building and peered around it. Sanada was on the tennis court, racket in one hand and ball in to the other, staring intensely at a plant. A drop of rain slipped from a leaf and Sanada hit the ball, smashing the raindrop perfectly in its center. My eyes widened. _Wow, he's really good…_ I couldn't help admitting it.

We both looked over at the same time as someone else gathered on the next court over. I blinked as I saw it was Echizen. Both he and Sanada served at the same time and both perfectly struck a falling raindrop. Echizen smirked lightly at him as he stared back. On his next serve, Echizen knocked Sanada's ball away and hit his raindrop for him.

Sanada looked at him again. "Do you have something to say?"

"Today's match was postponed." Echizen replied.

"I expected as much."

"I don't think you could bear to wait another week either, right?"

Sanada's face remained blank. "What are you trying to say?"

I followed the pair to a better court and watched from around the edge of a wall as Sanada spoke. "Are you sure you're ok with this? If they knew we had a match before the finals… I don't think it will just blow over for you."

"We can stop if you're getting nervous." Echizen replied.

They both pulled out their rackets and stepped onto the court, on opposite sides of the net, staring across at each other. As Sanada prepared to serve, he said, "I still don't know your name."

"You should announce your own name before asking for others'." Echizen replied. "That's common knowledge."

"I'm a senior at Rikkaidai Ruzoku, vice captain of the tennis club, Genichirou Sanada."

"Seigaku freshman, Ryoma Echizen."

Sanada's mouth opened as he stared at him. "So you're the freshman everyone's been talking about. I've heard many stories."

"Stories? What kind?"

"That you're not so bad for a freshman. That's all." Sanada prepared to serve again. "Here I go." Echizen got into position as well as Sanada tossed the ball into the air.

I had to cover my mouth to keep from gasping. As Echizen shifted his foot to prepare to return the ball, it was already past him. He missed the next one, but the one after Echizen made contact, however, the ball knocked the racket clean out of his hands. I watched as he stared at them in shock while they shook violently.

"Hey Echizen, would you mind picking up the ball?" Sanada said. Echizen remained staring so he raised his voice. "Echizen, the ball!"

Echizen finally snapped out of it. "Don't be in such a rush. The ball's not going to run away." He finally returned to the next serve, only to have it smashed back at him.

When Echizen started serving next, he shot a twist serve, the shot that spins on the ground and next shoots at the opponents face. He charged the net after but Sanada easily returned it and shot it right past him.

I jumped as I felt someone leaning over me and squirmed as a hand covered my mouth. "Quiet or they'll hear us." A familiar voice whispered gruffly. I glanced up and saw the boy who had found Akumei and me in the woods, the one with gray hair combed upwards. He was still as tall as ever, towering over me.

He looked back down at me, a constant scowl across his face, and released me. "Akutsu?" I asked.

"Yeah." He nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"The same thing you are, I guess…" I shrugged.

We both turned back to the game and I followed Akutsu's gaze to Sanada. "He's not your average player." I nodded as I saw him standing perfectly calm while Echizen gasped for breath.

The rain began to pick up again and a bright flash of lightening split across the sky as Sanada served again. Echizen was only able to watch the ball as it whizzed past. "Match point." Sanada announced. The next return, Echizen had time to pull back the racket partway and then fell to his knees. I saw Akutsu's mouth fall slightly agape and his eyes widen as Sanada said, "Game and match."

Stuffing his racket back into his bag, and slinging it onto his shoulder, Sanada turned to Echizen. "That was more enjoyable than training against a wall." Echizen said nothing, packing his racket into his bag with his head down and freezing halfway through. He had lost without scoring a single point, probably for the first time in his life. I had definitely never seen him lose before.

I turned to Akutsu. "What's he going to do?"

He scowled at me, saw I still didn't flinch, and turned away. "What do I care?"

I frowned. "I could tell by your face that you do at least a little, right?" He turned and started walking.

I crossed my arms over my chest and followed at a distance until he called towards me. "What are you doing?"

"Walking back to the school." I replied.

He turned and looked at me now. "Walking to Seigaku from here? Is that where you're staying now?"

"Yes, I have no money and they're letting me stay in the building alongside the courts. It beats sleeping in the woods." I shrugged.

His face darkened slightly. "They could at least let you stay in a real house with a real bed."

"No, it's ok! I told them not to. I don't want to trouble them further."

He paused. "How long have you been here?"

My face fell and there was a pause as I counted to myself. "Sixteen days…" I said finally, heart sinking as I realized just how long it had been. "I'm starting to think I won't ever make it home…" My voice unintentionally broke into a whimper.

He stared at me for a while and then muttered. "Come on, I'll let you stay with me tonight, and get some dry clothes and a bath."

"What?" I exclaimed. "You don't need to! I'm fine!"

His glare's intensity doubled. "I said come on."

I glared back but finally gave up. "…fine." I muttered. He began walking and I followed, trailing beside him as the rain continued pouring all around us.

We boarded a train and he forced me to take the seat while he stood beside me. There was an uneasy silence the entire way to his house and I finally stopped in the doorframe. Akutsu turned to me, annoyance all over his face. "What are you doing?"

"What will your family say?" I asked, nervously fingering my tail in my hands.

"No one's home tonight." He growled and pulled me inside. I followed him hesitantly upstairs and watched as he went into a room, obviously a girls, and picked out some clothes. He thrust them and a towel into my arms and led me to the bathroom. "Take a bath and then I'll show you where to sleep."

"Th-thank you…" I stammered before he pushed me inside and closed the door behind me. I frowned but approached the tub anyway, setting down the clothes and starting the water. After a while, I stripped the wet clothes from myself and stepped in, sinking below the water. I shivered as the warmth hit me, unaware of how cold I had been. I quickly washed my hair and myself and then got back out again, hastily drying off, resisting the urge to turn into a wolf and shake it off, and dressing. I left the room with my old clothes clutched in my arms and the towel draped over my back.

I found Akutsu lying across a couch, flicking between TV channels. He looked up when he saw me coming. Without a word, he took my old clothes from me and disappeared. I stood looking around awkwardly until he came back. Then he led me to the girl's room we had entered earlier. "You can sleep here." He said.

"But what if they won't want me to?" I asked, referring to the room's owner.

"It's my older sisters. She won't mind." Akutsu said shortly and then went across the hall to another room, vanishing inside, and shutting the door behind him.

I sighed and looked at the extremely welcoming bed. Unable to resist, I finally crossed the room and climbed in, not settling under the covers, but instead laying on top. It felt like I had never been more comfortable in my life. _I really do miss my bed…_ I laughed at myself and fell asleep shortly after.

* * *

I was woken by a hand on my shoulder. I tried to ignore it, but it kept shaking me. Eventually I rolled over, yawning, and jumped when I saw Akutsu's scowling face in my own. "You've been sleeping forever. Get up." He ordered. Reluctantly, I rolled off the bed and stood. "I'm going to talk to Kawamura. You can come if you want." 

"Ok…" I said, wondering how they knew each other in the first place. I tied on my bandana, grabbed yesterday's now clean clothes, and followed him out the door.

This time we walked to a park and Akutsu stood on the sidewalk outside it and froze there, leaning against the wall and waiting. I shrugged and wandered around, keeping him in sight. Soon I heard another voice and saw Kawamura approaching. "I've been waiting for you." Akutsu announced, eyes still closed.

"Akutsu!" Kawamura exclaimed. His eyes found me as well. "Kira too?"

"We need to talk." Akutsu said. Kawamura followed him to a small building that sat in the woods near the park. I trailed behind the both of them, listening as Akutsu explained about Echizen and Sanada's match.

"I'm sorry Akutsu…" Kawamura smiled. "Coming all the way to tell me that."

"It's not just this." Akutsu frowned. "Lend me your racket."

As Akutsu went to find Echizen, Kawamura and me followed at a distance and ended up watching from a bridge as he was found practicing alone on a court. "He hasn't been able to keep a ball in play today…" Kawamura told me. "By the way, what were you doing with Akutsu?"

I frowned slightly. "We both ended up watching Echizen's match last night and then he brought me to his house to get warm clothes. I slept in a bed for the first time in so long! Um… By myself." I added quickly, blushing.

Kawamura laughed. "Of course."

We watched as Akutsu scooped up the ball Echizen was reaching to pick up and balance it on his racket. Echizen's eyes opened wide in recognition. Akutsu frowned. "You're one useless person, brat."

"Didn't you give up on tennis?" Echizen replied.

Instead of answering, Akutsu went to the opposite end of the court and knocked away all the scattered balls. "Ready?" He served and Echizen hit it back and way out of bounds. Both of them watched it pass. "Long time no see. You got weaker, brat." As Echizen stood in frozen shock, Akutsu served again. Echizen lunged and weakly returned it. "To think that you actually lost… That pisses me off!" Akutsu bent low and jumped into the air with his top half still bent over and his arms hanging low. He lifted his head slightly to speak. "And you dare say you want to go to the nationals? Don't make me laugh!" He yelled, slamming the ball past Echizen.

A while later Echizen stood breathing heavily as Akutsu stood straight, ready to serve again. "Game count, four to zero." He announced and then stared at Echizen's face. "What's that expression in your eyes? Did you see another shadow while daydreaming? When I lost last time, your eyes reflected focus and determination." Echizen stood in stunned shock as he listened. "Like this…" Akutsu went on as he leapt high into the air to smash it. "It's over!"

Suddenly Echizen sprang back to life. He shouted and twisted around, slamming the ball back between Akutsu's legs. His smirk returned as he said, "I'm not going to let it end like this, right? Mada mada dane."

Akutsu laughed and returned to his spot. "Here I come, brat."

After a while, Akutsu was the one doubled over. "Haven't played in so long… I'm a bit tired." He said more to himself, and then stood to face Echizen. "Let the one who caused your defeat feel his own defeat, without hesitation." He turned to walk off the court with Echizen staring after him, soon giving a thankful bow.

Echizenglanced up and his eyes widened as he saw Kawamura and me. Kawamura just smiled and walked away and I hurried to follow. We met up with Akutsu on the bridge. "Thanks Akutsu." Kawamura nodded. "It looks like Echizen's recovered from his defeat."

Akutsu responded by thrusting the racket towards a startled Kawamura. "Don't get the wrong idea." He jerked his shirt back as well. He had just been wearing his black undershirt to play. "I just wanted to teach the little brat a lesson." He scowled and walked quickly away as Kawamura smiled after him.

"Bye…!" I called, grinning, and was surprised to see him raise a hand in response. I turned back towards Kawamura. "I really have to find Akumei. I haven't seen him since yesterday… Sorry!"

He laughed. "It's alright. He was sulking beside the courts at school."

I shook my head, smiling. "That big baby…" I laughed as well. "I have to go find him now. I'll see you later!" He waved after me as I ran off towards the school. I bumped into Fuji on the way and stopped to say hello.

He glanced down at the armful of clothes I still held. "Oh, do you need a bag for those?"

"No, I'm fine!" I said a bit too quickly.

Fuji laughed. "I'll get an old one of mine if that's alright."

I bowed my head. "Y-yes, thank you…"

He smiled. "You're allowed to let people help you out, you know. Especially someone in your place, trapped in the wrong world."

I nodded slightly. "I guess so… I just don't like troubling people."

"Well it's no trouble to me, so don't worry about it. I will give it to you tomorrow before practice. I'll see you then."

"Ok…" I waved after him and then ran the rest of the way to Seigaku without further incident. I approached the small building slowly and quietly pushed open the door. Akumei was asleep, lying across the bench, his feet hanging far off the end. I smiled slightly and added my clothes to the growing pile before sliding down to sit with my back against the wall. The more I fell into sleep, the more I tilted to my side and eventually I was curled into a ball on the ground, back to the wall.

"Kira, wake up."

"Hmm…?" I murmured, rubbing my eyes drowsily. I looked up and saw Fuji crouched beside me.

He smiled. "Sorry to wake you, but it's already pretty late and I wanted to give you this." He held out a medium sized black back that zipped close. There were straps on it so I could wear it on my back.

"Oh, thanks!" I cried, accepting it happily.

"Anytime. Now, I have to get to practice."

"Alright…" I watched him go and then looked over, jumping as I saw Akumei staring at me. "H-hey Akumei." I stammered uneasily.

He glared at me. "You left me here for a whole day and night with nothing to do."

"I'm sorry! I was busy!"

He frowned and crossed his arms. "Fine, whatever…"

"Well I'm back now… What would you like to do?"

"I don't know…"

Now I was the one to frown. "You can't complain and then have nothing to do in mind!" I muttered as I stuffed my clothes and camera into the bag Fuji gave me. Then I adjusted the bandana on my head again. I sighed and plopped down beside Akumei on the bench. "Do you know how long we've been here?" He shook his head. "Eighteen days… Usually we stay in one place three at the most!" I buried my face into my hands to hide the tears that suddenly leaked out. It didn't work.

Akumei lifted my face to his and gently pulled my hands away so he could wipe away the tears. "Please don't cry… I have a feeling it will be soon, so don't give up yet!"

"I haven't given up… It has just taken so long! I'm so frustrated… I just want to go home."

Akumei nodded. "Yeah, me too. But all we can do right now is wait. We shouldn't worry ourselves too much. I know we'll make it back soon."

I stared at him for a moment and then nodded, wiping my face. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry…"

He laughed and pulled me into a hug. "Don't worry. Just have to be patient."

After a long while of sitting in silence, I turned to him again. "Akumei…?"

"Yeah?"

I frowned and tugged on the navy collar still around my neck. "It won't come off."

He burst out laughing as I glared. "But it suits you so nicely!" He grinned, tugging on my ear.

"Shut up…" I growled, pushing his hand away. "I'm going outside." I quickly left the building, heading to the courts to watch the guys finishing their practice for the day.

"Hey, Kira!"

I watched as Oishi walked up to me. "Yeah?"

"You know that the finals have been set back a week?" I nodded as he went on. "Well, we're going to a camp for a week to prepare. I'm sorry, but we won't be here…"

"Oh, it's alright! I understand." I smiled. "Make sure you train hard and beat them, ok?"

He looked somewhat relieved at my response. "Yes, we will. Take care while we're gone."

Early the next morning, I waved them off as the bus drove away. Sighing, I plopped down beside the fence and stared through at the empty courts. After a while, I fell back with arms outspread beside me and stared at the sky.

A shadow fell over me and I looked up to see Akumei taking a seat beside me. "It can't be comfortable lying on the…" He paused for the word. "…cement?"

I closed my eyes. "I don't care…"

_Kira…?_

I sat bolt upright as the timid voice spoke in my head. _Y-yes?_ My voice was shaking, even inside my head.

_I'm very sorry it's taken so long!_ The voice cried. _I went too long last time and passed out. I only just woke up again!_

_It's all right! I'm just so glad to hear you… I was afraid you'd never respond again!_

_I am sorry… I'll hurry and send you now._

_Thank you…_ She remained silent and I looked up at Akumei, tears in my eyes. "We're leaving this place." I sprinted to the building and scribbled out a note that I was leaving and then ran back outside with my bag of clothes, camera, and sword all tightly strapped on. I was almost bouncing with excitement. "Now promise you won't sleep the entire time again!"

Akumei frowned. "I can't promise you that…"

My face immediately fell. "What? Why not?"

"Well, what if we're attacked while both of us are too weak to do anything? What would we do then?"

I remained silent, unable to come up with a firm argument. "Fine…" I finally muttered just as we began to glow. "This is it!" I nearly shrieked. "We're leaving!"

"We might not return home you know…"

"I know, but we're getting out of here, after nineteen long, boring days!" I screamed, clinging to Akumei.

He just laughed at my enthusiasm and ruffled my hair. "Whatever you say."

I grinned at him as we disappeared without a trace.

**

* * *

**

"Will you shut up?" Hiei muttered.

Kyoshi turned to look at him, having been murmuring a song to himself under his breath. "It's not bothering anyone… And I'm bored!"

"Then why don't you just leave?"

"Why should I? I want to see Kira just as much as you do." Kyoshi smirked. "Or maybe not. You seem to be taking her disappearance quite hard. But you are silent all the time. It's so hard to tell with you. You have been sulking a lot though. Ack!" He rolled out of the way as a black fireball landed where his head had been. "What is wrong with you?" He screamed.

"I've warned you countless times…" Hiei said in a deadly whisper. The two locked eyes in a fierce glare.

"I've sent her."

Both Hiei and Kyoshi jumped at the sudden small, but firm voice of the little cat girl. "W-what? You're awake?" Kyoshi exclaimed, darting to her side.

"Yes, I've recovered, and I've just sent her again."

"How was she?" Hiei asked, eyes narrowed.

"She seemed perfectly fine. She was… relieved to hear from me." The girl added guiltily.

"Yeah, I bet she was!" Kyoshi murmured. "How long has it been?"

"Near three weeks." Hiei muttered.

"I-I'm sorry…" The girl whispered.

Kyoshi tried comforting her. "It's alright, just try getting her back soon." She nodded and closed her eyes again. Hiei shot him another glare before crossing his arms over his chest and turning away.


	49. Samurai Champloo

**Author's Note:**Thanks for being so patient guys! If you haven't noticed, that really long chapter that held me up has been added to the chapter before this one. Hope you like!

* * *

I bit my lip to keep from screaming as I fell towards the earth that seemed so far away. "Akumei…?" I whispered but he was already asleep. With a slight whimper, I tightened my grip on him and closed my eyes, picturing the great black wings in my head. Before they had even started coming out, I collided with the ground. "D-damn it…" I stammered, regaining the breath that had been knocked out of me. 

I sat up slowly, looking around. I was in a village, complete with small wooden houses and buildings everywhere. "Well, this is a change from the city." I sighed as I got to my feet, only to fall right back over. "What's wrong with me?" I frowned, forcing myself to sit up again. "Why am I so dizzy?" I whirled around as I heard footsteps approaching, clutching helplessly at my head.

"Well, what do we have here?" A man smirked down at me. He looked to be in his middle ages.

"She doesn't seem to be from around here. Look at her clothes…" Another said. I was wearing a black sleeveless shirt with baggy gray pants, plus the bandana, and they all seemed to have robes.

"Quite exotic." A man snuck up behind me and hauled me up by the waist.

"Let go!" I screamed, trying to get away, but my movements were sluggish due to the headache.

He laughed at my feeble attempts. "Oh, she's feisty too. We could get a fair price for this one." He chuckled. "I may even have a go…"

"W-what?" I gasped, renewing my efforts to get away. "Let go, get away from me!" I thrashed out, hitting a nearby pot and sending my foot straight through.

All three men stared at me and then one laughed loudly. "Well, now we have a good reason! Girl, do you have any money to pay for that pot you just broke? I didn't think so… You're coming to work for us until it's all paid back."

"What is a girl doing with a sword?" One of them reached out towards it, caught sight of my face, and froze. "What's with that look, girl? Someone needs to teach you your place…"

"Yeah…" The one holding me spoke up. "I bet these clothes come off real nice…"

I tensed as his hand ran along the back of my leg and then tugged at the pants line, the _elastic_ pants line, which did in fact come off easily. "I said, let… go!" I screamed, slamming an elbow back into his face. He fell to the ground with a thump and I scrambled away from him and back to Akumei.

"Hey, you bitch. What do you think you're doing?" A man screamed at me.

"What does it look like?" I yelled back as my fist collided with his face. I glared at the third man as if daring him to try anything and he froze uncertainly. Quickly I draped Akumei's arm over my shoulder and took off through the narrow alleyways in between houses. Soon after I heard shouting and knew they were coming after me. _Why me…?_ I thought in exasperation. I skidded to a halt as some one leapt out of a doorway and pretty much tackled me to the ground. "G-get off!" I screamed, still feeling dazed and weak from the headache.

"No way, girl." He smirked. "You'd better get used to being in this position."

I struggled under him. "No!" He just laughed and called out that he had me. A group of six men came out of nowhere to grab me up and hauled me away. "A-Akumei!" I screamed, reaching out to him as I was carried away. "Wait, stop!"

"That man's as good as dead." One of my captors said. "You might as well forget about him now."

"Besides," Another spoke up. "Where you're going, you'll probably get several men a day! You won't be missing him." He flinched back involuntarily from my glare.

With a snarl, I lashed out at one of the men that held me. He screamed, clutching at his torn arm, and the others dropped me as well in shock. I scrambled away but was stopped as a foot collided with the back of my head and forced my face into the ground. I growled in my throat as I felt my hands and feet being bound.

"She's a crazy one… Might have to keep her tied up during everything! Not that anyone would mind…" He stepped away as I snarled at him.

Two of them haled me up and dragged me forward as another walked behind with a sword point in my back so I wouldn't try anything.

The one I had scratched struck me across the face with his hand but I continued glaring at him. "She's got some spirit, this one…" He spat. "I think I'll have to break it for her." He grabbed my face hard in his hand and made me look at him as the others watched in amusement. "How about it, little girl?" There was a small snapping sound and he went skidding back, landing against a building. I was immediately tackled to the ground as they retied my hands.

"How the hell did she break loose?" A man asked as he kicked me hard in the side.

"I don't know, but we'll have to be very careful with her." Another replied as he stomped on my back. They dragged me up again and made their way to a large building with several floors. Men lined the walls and women sat inside, flirting with them through thick, wooden bars. I watched disgustedly as a man made his selection and the chosen girl giggled happily.

I snapped out of my thoughts as I was thrown into the cage with the rest of them. "I wouldn't try anything if I were you." One of the men warned. "You're on thin ice as it is."

"Thanks for the tip." I snarled sarcastically as he left. I looked around myself and glared at the few people watching me until they turned away uneasily. _I could easily get out of here…_I thought to myself. _Just not when it's so crowded._ I sighed and backed away to a far corner away from everyone else and curled up in it, feet and hands still tied. Eventually blocking out the unpleasant sounds from surrounding rooms, I drifted into sleep.

"That one in the back, why is she tied up?" A young man asked a nearby worker.

"Well, sir, we just got her today. She's still a little… wild."

He grinned. "I want her. Bring her to my room."

"But she hasn't been cleaned up yet, sir."

"I said, I want her."

"…Y-yes sir."

* * *

"Hey, girl, wake up! I have time limit." 

"Akumei…" I moaned quietly.

"Akuemi?" A voice echoed curiously. I forced my eyes open as the hand on my shoulder kept shaking me and glared at whoever it was. I jumped as I realized I was no longer in the room I had fallen asleep in. This one was smaller and I was lying on a mat that was placed on the floor. I saw my bag and sword against a nearby wall. A young man, well built and athletic, with black hair pulled into a ponytail, was sitting in front of me. He had no shirt on. "W-what's going on?" I screamed, noting the headache had cleared somewhat.

He chuckled and leaned over me, picking a clump of dirt out of my hair. "What do you think?" I stared at him wide eyed as I struggled rapidly with the ropes around my hands. He noticed and smiled. "It's useless, you can't break through that on your own. I'm guessing this is your first time? Don't worry, I'll go slow…" He leaned down and began kissing my neck gently. I screamed and thrashed around wildly in response. "Hey, no need to go crazy. The fun hasn't even begun yet!" He paused at the tears in my eyes and then leaned over me again. I shivered as he whispered in my ear, "I'm sorry but I had to pay a lot for this. I won't waste it."

I whimpered as he kissed my neck again. "P-please don't!"

"Why not?" He murmured. "I'll make it enjoyable for you too, ok?" He made to straddle my waist, but I rolled onto my side. "Silly girl, that will not work at all." He said as he forced me onto my back again. He sat on my stomach, running a hand through my hair and freezing as he felt an ear. He quickly jerked off the bandana to stare."You… really are exotic." He breathed as he rubbed it, smiling as he saw my body go limp. "Found your weakness."

"Stop it…" I whispered faintly as his hand felt around my waist and up my back. I shivered again as his fingers brushed lightly across the skin. Tears streamed from my eyes as I recalled the last time this had happened, back in the woods at home. I whimpered loudly as he kissed along my jawbone.

"Aw, don't be like this." He pouted. "I want to have a good time, and you should too. You're lucky you got someone close to your own age for your first time so you might as well enjoy it."

I paused for a moment and then closed my eyes. "Y-you're right. I'm sorry…" I sighed. "I bet I could do even better if you'd let me…" I added with the most seductive smile I could manage.

His pout immediately faded back into a grin. "Oh really? Well, sorry, but I like to be in charge."

I screamed again, realizing my idea hadn't worked. "No, let me go! Please! I'm just trying to get home! I have to find Akumei! What if they did something to him? Untie me now!"

He straddled my waist and grabbed my shoulders to hold me to the ground. "I already told you that I paid good money for this! Just let me have my fun!"

"What about what I want?" I pleaded, tears returning.

"You're in a brothel. No one cares what you want!" He growled, thrusting his lips towards mine, but I turned my head at the last second so he hit my cheek instead. "Do you really hate me that much…?"

"Yes! I hate anyone who'd do this to a girl against her will!"

"I'm tired of being nice when you obviously don't appreciate it!" He cried as he cupped my face in his hand. "Please, I'll give you one last chance. You can make this easy or hard on yourself. Which do you choose?"

"Same to you." I glared. "Which do you choose?"

"…Fine." He kissed my neck again as his hands ran down my waist and began sliding the pants down. In a panic, I hit him full in the face, knocking him off me, and jerked them back into place. With a quick swipe, I freed my feet as well.

"I warned you, I did!" I cried, grabbing up my sword and holding it towards him as he nursed his jaw.

He watched as I pulled the bag onto my back and tied the bandana rapidly back around my head. "You pack quite a punch… Planning on breaking out of here? You won't get far."

"We'll see…" I growled as I backed towards the window.

"There's a two story drop." He warned.

"That's nothing." I snapped as I swung one leg over it.

I jumped as he grabbed my arm. "Just one kiss, just one!" He begged. Before I could respond, he leaned forward and his lips collided on mine. My sword clattered to the ground as he licked my lips and I gasped, letting him slip inside. He threw his arms around my waist, lifted me forcefully, and dropped me back on the mat, his tongue all the while exploring my mouth. I pushed him but he wouldn't get off, his hands moving along my back, sides, waist. He jerked the bag from my back and threw it to the side. I let out a muffled cry as my shirt began rising and I felt his bare stomach against mine. My claws were digging into his shoulders but he didn't seem to mind at all. I began shoving him away but as he rose, he pulled me with him. We ended up falling the other way so I was on top, but he still held me tightly to him. I pulled my bottom half away and got to my knees but it was like our mouths were surgically connected and his arms clung tightly around my back. The tears were falling rapidly now. Finally, I managed to wrestle my hand free and slam a fist into his stomach.

He grunted and let go, sitting up to grin at me as I backed away. "Now, wasn't that fun?"

"N-no!" I screamed at him, wiping my eyes and realizing the headache had returned full force. "You asked for one kiss and you didn't even wait for a reply to that! I'm leaving and there's no way anyone is going to stop me!"

"Well if they do manage to get you back, I'll be sure to come visit again." He smirked, catching my wrist again as I turned away. "Wait a moment. If you tell me what you are, then I won't tell anyone you've gotten away."

"R-really?" I stammered, surprised by his offer, and then narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "And what else are you expecting to get to keep quiet?"

"Nothing, but if you really want to…" He pulled me close to him, laughing as I turned crimson and pushed away. "Just sit with me and tell me what you are."

I frowned and sat on my knees across from him. "I'm a mix of wolf demon, dog demon, and human." I said bluntly. "Can I go now?"

I stood again to go, grew dizzy, and toppled over into him. "You know you want me, I can tell." He whispered in my ear, chuckling as I shivered. "You can't keep yourself off of me."

"Shut up." I growled. "Now I've told you so you have to let me go!"

"Hold on." He pulled me closely to him again. "I do have something you have to do for me…"

"Forget it." I spat, eyes narrowing again as I started pushing him away. The headache was worsening though, so I felt very helpless. I couldn't even get away from a regular human!

His grip tightened around my waist as he pulled me onto his lap. "I need you to…" He paused to kiss my neck, pouting as I struggled again. "…hit me."

I froze. "What…?"

"I'll get in trouble if they know I let you get away willingly. If it looks like you beat me in a struggle, I'll get off the hook and you'll get away. They were talking about how wild you were so they'll believe it."

"Where?"

He laughed at the quickness of my answer. "Anywhere, and try leaving a bruise. I'd appreciate if you didn't kill me though." I smiled mischievously as I looked him over, causing him to flinch back lightly. "Don't break anything." He added quickly.

"I can't promise anything…" I said quietly and then lashed out, my foot colliding with his chest to send him sliding backwards. He grunted as it hit and there were a couple cracking sounds. "Crap…" I muttered under my breath as I crouched at his side.

"I asked you… not to break anything!" He gasped angrily.

"Shut up for a second." I frowned as I placed my hands on the rapidly forming bruise on his chest. I saw him flinching as I closed my eyes and focused. I sent my energy past the bruised skin to the cracked ribs underneath. After a moment, I pulled away again.

"Shit, girl…" He winced as he prodded the bruise lightly. "Couldn't you have healed this too?"

"Don't push your luck." I growled gently. "Besides, that would ruin the point of hitting you in the first place."

"Yeah…" He sighed as he sat up slowly and then collapsed backwards again.

He was definitely making me feel guilty. "Are you going to be alright?" I asked, leaning over him. I gasped as he reached out and pulled my head down with his hand, sending my lips crashing onto his. I smacked him in the face and he let me go again. "Leave me alone!" I shrieked.

He just smirked. "A good bye and good luck kiss." He said simply.

I glared at him before leaping out the open window into the darkened sky and started off. It seemed I had barely taken a few steps before someone shouted to go after me. I sprinted back towards Akumei and was relieved to see him still there where I had left him in the streets, though he had been dragged closer to the building and out of the way by someone. Quickly I looped his arm around my neck and ran on, hearing pounding footsteps behind me. I swerved into an alley and continued running.

"Ah-!" As I rounded a corner, a hand reached out and covered my mouth, causing me to drop Akumei.

I squirmed wildly, trying to free myself and worsening the headache more, but froze when I heard an agitated male's voice in my ear. "Hey, you idiot, do you want to get yourself caught?" He pulled me close and withdrew into the shadowed doorway of a building. Somehow, I managed to drag Akumei in as well. His hand remained firmly over my mouth and the other around my waist as we waited with bated breath while the sound of pounding footsteps rushed past.

Once the sounds had faded, he finally released me and plopped down on the floor. "Whew, I wasn't sure if we'd make it." He said, looking me up and down. He had wild brown hair and was tall and skinny.

I blushed slightly and sat down as well. "Well, thank you for helping me…"

"What'd you do to get them after you?"

"They tried to take me and… I kicked a pot." I frowned. "Then they brought me to a… brothel, but I got out."

"A brothel, huh?" He said, sticking a finger in his ear. "Want to give me a session? Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"What do you think?" I replied hotly, tears leaking out again.

"Hey, calm down. It's not worth crying over."

"You try being in my position!" I screamed.

"Oh… So you're a virgin then?"

I glared at him as he watched me with a bored expression and then looked around the room I was now in. It was small with no furniture at all and lit only by the moonlight entering through a small window. I didn't notice the girl coming up behind me through the pounding headache. "Mugen?" I jumped as I heard her speak. "Who's this?"

I turned and looked at her quickly. She had brown hair, pulled up and wore a kimono. "S-sorry!" I stammered, dizzy from spinning around. "He helped me. I'll go if it's a problem."

"Oh no, it's fine!" She said hastily. "How'd he help you?"

"She ran from a brothel." The man, Mugen, replied before I could. "I pulled her in here and out of the way."

The girl shivered slightly. "Oh yeah, I was locked in one of those for a while. It's horrible, isn't it?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, but the boy I was with helped me get out. Well, after ensuring he wouldn't get in trouble for it…"

"Why do you carry a sword?"

I jumped and spun around again as I heard yet another voice. _God, my senses are messed up right now._ I thought in annoyance as I picked out the man in robes sitting in the shadows against a wall. He wore glasses and at his side were two swords. "For protection." I said simply. He nodded slightly but kept watching me, strands of loose black hair from his ponytail in his eyes. I shifted uneasily as I noticed every eye was on me. "I'll just be going now…" I whispered, standing.

"No, they'll still be looking for you!" The girl cried. "You can hide out with us tonight. Oh, and my name is Fuu. He's Mugen and he's Jin." She said, pointing first to the man who had helped me and then to the other.

"I'm Kira." I smiled slightly. "And this is Akumei."

"You sure he's not dead?" Mugen asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." I frowned. "He's fine. He's just sleeping…"

"How much can one man sleep?" Jin asked.

"Umm…" I began but didn't finish as I went to Akumei and propped him against a wall. My headache seemed to fade almost instantly. _Wow, do I really need him this much?_ I frowned to myself. _Away for a day and it killed my head… I'm so glad I didn't come alone. _I shook my head roughly. _Wow, that sounded really selfish. _I looked up now to see the three others staring at me. "S-sorry…" I whispered.

"It's alright." Fuu smiled uncertainly.

I managed a weak smile in return before I plopped down against the wall at Akumei's side. Soon after, I got up impatiently and looked out the window. My ear twitched and I rolled to the side, drawing my sword to deflect Jin's next attack. "What are you doing?" I shrieked as he swung again and I blocked once more.

"Jin, what are you doing?" Fuu shouted.

He paused, staring at me, and then sheathed his sword again. I kept mine pointed at him as he spoke. "You know how to use a sword fairly well for only carrying it for protection." He stated.

"Well, how can I protect myself if I don't know how to use it?" I retorted angrily.

"You're reflexes are extremely well." He continued.

"Well I couldn't let that hit me!"

"I assure you, I would have stopped it in time."

"Hey… Why's your sword triple the size of the sheathe?" Mugen asked suddenly.

"W-well, that's…" I began slowly, but Mugen cut me off.

"What's with those clothes?" He asked.

"What do you…?" I began, looking down at myself.

"Is that a tail? What are those markings on your face?" Fuu paused. "And… are you wearing cat ears?"

My hand darted to my head, noting that the bandana had come off when Jin lunged at me. "Wolf!" I snapped. "They're wolf ears!"

"Why do you wear them?" Jin pressed.

"I uh…" I closed my eyes, regaining my composure as I sheathed my sword. "I think it's time that I leave."

I peeked my head out the door, pulling back quickly as I heard someone shouting, "Have you found her yet?"

"No, but she can't have gotten far carrying that man with her!" Another answered.

Mugen nodded towards me. "And you wouldn't have gotten away in the first place without my help, so you owe it to me to tell."

"I don't owe you anything. I could have gotten away on my own!" I met his steady gaze for a while and finally plopped down moodily beside Akumei, ignoring his superior smirking. "Fine… First off, I'm a wolf demon, dog demon, and human, mixed, so the tail and ears are real. I was born with the markings because my father had them as well. The sword was a gift from him, made from his fang. I was sent from my home world so now I'm switching between them at random until I find my own again. And if you don't believe me, I really don't care." I added irritably.

"A demon." Jin echoed.

"Yeah, that's what I said!" I replied sharply, crossing my arms over my chest. All three were staring at me and I wanted nothing more than to disappear. Instead, I closed my eyes and leaned forward. The image of black wings appeared in my head, exploding from my back. I bit my lip as I felt the feathers sliding against my skin as they began to emerge for real.

"W-what's going on?" Fuu gasped.

I forced a pained smile. "J-just something to help me later…" I concentrated harder and the wings spread faster. I bit my tongue to stifle a yelp, but the whimpering continued. My hands were now the only thing holding me up as I sat on hands and knees, head gradually sinking lower to the ground and my face screwed up in pain. All three were staring at me in alarm, having no idea what was happening.

"What the hell…?" Mugen frowned as Fuu inched forward to try to help.

"I-I'm fine…" I whispered.

"No you're not!" She exclaimed, keeping a slight distance as the wings were almost entirely out. Finally, they stopped and I collapsed forward, lifting up an arm and allowing it to drop onto my back and heal the torn skin around the newly formed wings. Then I fell back against the wall, trying to catch my breath.

"You can heal yourself?" Fuu gaped.

"You can fly?" Mugen added. Jin just watched in silence.

I nodded to both their questions, hiding a yawn.

"You should… get some rest." Jin finally spoke up. "We'll watch out for any men who may be after you."

"…Thank you." I sighed and slipped down on my side, closing my eyes and soon passing out, wings draped over my body.

"Think we can trust her?" Mugen immediately asked.

"Why not? Anyway, she's asleep right now." Fuu replied.

"She doesn't mean any harm." Jin said calmly.

"How do you know that?" Mugen argued.

"Has she tried anything since she got here?"

"She hit me." He sulked.

"You asked her for a session." Jin recalled aloud and Mugen flinched from the glare Fuu gave him.

"…Fine." He said finally.

* * *

I awoke early the next morning, yawning silently as I sat up and stretched my arms above my head. 

"Get some good sleep?"

I jumped but turned, smiling, towards Jin. "Yes, and yourself?" He simply nodded and kept watching me as I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "Is there… something you want to say?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No, not really."

"O-ok… I'm going to step outside for a second." I quickly got up and went through the door to the alleyway outside. Sighing, I stared up at the sky above me and thought about returning home. _How long has it been now?_ _I've lost track…_ I frowned and then stifled another yawn as I returned inside.

Mugen was still asleep, sprawled on his back in the middle of the room, snoring and slightly drooling, and Fuu was leaning against a wall clutching at her stomach. Jin was staring silently at the floor. I plopped down next to Akumei and poked his side uselessly.

The next second I was on my knees, gripping my head tightly with both hands.

_Kira?_

_Yeah, I'm here…_

_K, are you ready?_

_Of course._ I replied and then her voice faded. I looked up at Fuu and Jin. "Time for me to go!" I quickly grabbed my bag and sword and strapped them on. "Oh, can I take your pictures?" I asked, pulling out the camera. They gazed at it curiously as I explained to them what it did and finally both agreed. "All right, do you think we could wake him up." I asked as I pointed over to Mugen.

"Yeah, it's getting pretty late." Fuu replied.

I nodded and crawled to his side. "Hey, time to wake up!" I murmured as I shook his shoulder lightly. "Ah-!" I cried as he jerked me on top of him.

His eyes opened and he pouted at me. "Oh, it's you… You just ruined a really good dream."

I shivered as his hand ran along my back. "S-sorry…" I whispered, eyes wide and face red. "Could you let me go?" Reluctantly his hands left my waist and I quickly clambered off of him, trying to calm myself down. "Can I take your picture?" I finally asked. "Quick, I don't have much time."

I gathered the three together and then plopped down beside Fuu just before the camera flashed. "Thank you very much!" I exclaimed as I jumped over to Akumei's side and put the camera away again just as I began to glow a faint white. They stared at me as I slung Akumei's arm around my shoulder and then smiled at them. "Bye…" I disappeared in mid wave.

They all exchanged glances and then Mugen stretched out. "Well, I'm bored of this place. Let's go."

* * *

"I've sent her again." The young cat girl said. "She should be back soon I think." 

"It had better be more than an 'I think'" Hiei muttered.

"Come on, give her a break. Look how much she's done already!" Kyoshi replied.

"It was her fault in the first place!" Hiei snarled.

"Yeah, well…" Kyoshi's voice faded as he fingered the small bottle of smoke in his hand, blue and silver swirling together.

The girl closed her eyes. "I'll try harder…" She said faintly.

* * *


	50. Samurai Deeper Kyo

I looked down as I flapped my wings once to slow our descent and groaned. It was another village of mostly wooden houses, similar to the place I had just left. They were small though, and spaced further apart. I touched down just on the outskirts and was immediately greeted by a scream.

"Kenyou!"

I turned towards the woman who had shouted and she fled in fear. "Kenyou, kenyou!" She kept repeating.

"What…?" I frowned, adjusting Akumei's arm around my shoulder.

I took a step back as a man appeared, glaring at me, with a sword clutched tightly in his hand. Another appeared behind him, holding a sword as well, and even more after them. Pretty soon an entire mob had gathered before me.

"Hey, I don't want any trouble…" I began, cut off as a knife flew towards me. I knocked it down with my claws. "Hey, did you not hear me?" I shouted angrily.

"Get her!" was the reply. "Kill the kenyou!"

The crowd surged towards me and I backed up a step. _I don't want to injure them… They're just normal humans._ I held Akumei tighter and then turned to run.

I blindly followed a dirt path, aware that they were pretty close behind me since my wings and Akumei combined were slowing me down. I glanced over my shoulder and immediately slammed into something hard. I grunted and fell backwards onto the ground.

A man stood in front of me, with dark brown hair and glaring red eyes. His hand rested on the hilt of a long sword that hung at his waist. With him was a girl with lighter brown hair pulled into a ponytail and another man who wore a bandana and held a bladed staff.

The first man regarded me without interest and then looked up at the villagers who had chased me. A dagger sunk into the ground beside my head and I scrambled forward, making my way past the man, but he stopped me, catching the back of my shirt. "Let go!" I struggled, but my hands were full clutching Akumei.

"What did she do?" He asked the villagers coldly, completely ignoring my cries.

"She flew down and landed in our village." A man cried out angrily.

"Did she attack anyone?"

"…No." came the delayed response.

The man dropped me in agitation. "If you don't get out of here and stop wasting my time, you _will_ be in trouble." He said.

The villagers eyed him for just a moment and then swiftly retreated. "That was Demon Eyes Kyo!" "We're lucky we got off that easy!" I heard then talking among themselves.

Kyo turned to me now. "What kind of Kenyou are you, not attacking anyone and still looking mostly human?"

"Kenyou…?"

"Don't play dumb!" The girl, Yuya, said in irritation, pulling out a silver gun and pointing it at me.

I took an uncertain step back. "Hey, I'm not doing anything wrong and I'm being serious!" I cried.

"Kenyou." The guy with the bandana, Benitora, explained. "Kind of like a monster."

"I'm not a monster!" I frowned, voice faltering as their gazes all bored into me. "Well… I won't hurt anyone who hasn't threatened me. I didn't even hurt any of them, though they attacked me for no reason!" I added, waving a hand after the retreating villagers.

Hesitantly, Yuya's gun lowered and she instead just watch me cautiously. "Then what are you?"

"I'm a… demon…" All the stares remained on me as they waited for me to explain myself. I sighed and then complied uneasily. "I was sent from my own world and now I'm just trying to return without getting killed. If you let me go on now, I'll leave you alone and never bother you again."

Kyo eyed me for a moment and then started walking. After a moment longer of staring at me, Yuya and Benitora followed.

I watched them until they were out of sight and then plopped down where I stood in the middle of the dirt road. "I hope we get out of here soon." I whispered to Akumei. "I just want to get back home…" I looked up at the sound of heavy footsteps approaching and my eyes gradually widened as it came ever closer.

It was at least seven or eight feet tall with hard, scaly skin. There were long claws on every finger and toe, and a long, thicktail coming from the back. The face was deformed, elongated almost like a lizards, with a bit of shoulder length hair coming down. The tongue flicked out every now and then too. Its narrowed eyes saw me and lit up in delight as it drew a huge sword from its side.

"A kenyou…?" I frowned as I pulled out mine as well. "How could I be mistaken for one of those?" I went towards it so the inevitable fight would not take place near the unconscious Akumei.

It reacted faster than I anticipated. Before I knew what was going on, the thing's tail was wrapped tight around my neck and my feet were lifted clear from the ground. I dropped my sword in surprise and had to claw through the tough skin to get free. It laughed all the while at my helplessness, suddenly shrieking as a sword of spirit energy sliced its tail in two.

It dropped me, spitting curses, as the separated tail lashed around several times before a new one re-grew in its place. I clutched at my throat, rapidly sucking in air, as I scooped my real sword up from the ground and stood ready.

"Foolish human," it chuckled. "You think you can stand up to me?"

A tiny smirk tugged the corner of my mouth. "First of all, I'm not human. I'd have thought even a thing like you would have been able to tell that."

The kenyou snarled as it charged in rage. I leapt into the air, avoiding the clawed hand that sunk into the ground where I had stood. I was aiming for its head, but had to pause to slice off the other hand, which grabbed at me next, using my wings to change position in mid air. Its piercing scream caused me to flinch and, in that split second, the separated tail flung itself from the ground to wind around me. I fell to the ground, struggling fruitlessly, with arms pinned to my sides and legs trapped together.

It chuckled again as its shadow towered over me. "Now you shall pay for your insolence."

"I don't think so." I growled in response, body glowing green now. With a sickening noise, the tail exploded from around me as energy pulsed outwards and the kenyou stumbled backwards in surprise, leaving its stomach wide open.

I snatched up my sword and stabbed forwards without hesitation, blade sinking into and through the softer underbelly of the creature. It stared at me in shock for a moment before the eyes glazed over and it collapsed.

I simply heaved a sigh of relief, wiped the blood from my sword, and sheathed it. I crossed back to Akumei who was slightly off the road and fell back beside him into the soft grass. "This place sucks."

_Why is that?_

I sat back up with a start as the young voice laughed in my head and then couldn't help joining in as well. _A monster attacked me._

_Oh! Are you all right?_

_Yeah, I'm fine._

_Ok then, I'm sending you now._

Her voice faded and I crouched by Akumei, half pulling him into my arms as we both began to glow. Suddenly I shivered and looked around uncertainly. _I have a bad feeling..._ I thought uneasily and made a very large andtransparent bubble around myself and Akumei so we'd be prepared for whatever was to come.Just a momentafter, wedisappeared without a trace.

* * *

The small cat demon looked around herself at the two men. Hiei was glaring off into nothing and Kyoshi was fingering the small ball of smoke, looking about to pass out from boredom. She sighed almost silently to herself and decided it best to keep quiet. Then she closed her eyes and prepared herself to start searching once again. 


	51. Gundam SEED

My eyes snapped open and then widened seemingly beyond proportion. "Wha-what?" I stammered in fear as I stared around.

In every direction, all I could see was blackness. Off in the distance and in all directions were twinkling dots of light, stars I assumed, which cast the faintest bit of light. I closed my eyes and sat, thanking myself that I had formed the shield when I did. Who knows what would have happened if I didn't and then we were sent here? Here being outer space. As hard as it was to believe, I could not rule out the possibility that that was in fact where we currently were. It sure looked like it… I could be sent to any world, any place, space included.

I sighed heavily, fighting back a half sob of panic as I sat down beside Akumei, clinging to his arm as if it were some form of comfort. Again, I found myself thanking him for coming and, at the very least, keeping me company. Even if he was unconscious, I still had someone near me so I wasn't left entirely alone.

I laid myself alongside him on the slightly curved bottom of the bubble, still holding tightly to him as I closed my eyes, trying to block out the picture of where I was. I couldn't get my mind off it, however, and soon ended up shivering slightly in fright.

For as long as I could remember, I had been afraid of heights. Gin had attempted to help me get over that fear and having my own set of wings had helped as well, yet floating through the endless expanse of space, the dread returned full force and before I knew it, I was whimpering as well.

Several hours later found my body shaking and teeth chattering. I snuggled into Akumei, his arms draped over me and mine around him in an attempt to keep warm. I knew he must have been freezing as well since he kept mumbling to himself in his sleep and every now and then, I'd feel his body shaking slightly.

"I wa-want to g-go home…" I whimpered to myself, head feeling light and body as cold as if it were made of ice. My vision began blurring and I fought to keep the energy shield around us, knowing that it was our last feeble chance at survival.

I felt myself slipping into darkness just as I caught sight of a small pinprick speeding towards us. I lifted my head weakly as I watched it drawing closer and gradually growing in size until it took on the shape of what appeared to be a giant robot. It approached rapidly, stopping to hover just beside his. _I must be hallucinating…_ I thought to myself and then passed out entirely.

* * *

I opened my eyes half way and peered around at my new surroundings. I was in a room with sliver metal walls, lying on my side on a bed with another one above me. Opposite against the other wall were similar bunk beds, simple silver frames with white sheets. Akumei lay in the bottom one with a large blanket consuming him. I saw his chest rising and falling repeatedly and knew he was fine. 

I was also draped under a thick blanket and just realized that I was gripping it tightly to wrap it more firmly around myself. I held it close as I sat up and then paused, waiting for my head to stop spinning from the movement. I sluggishly grabbed my sword, bag of clothing, and camera bag, and strapped them all securely around myself again.

Just as I fully recovered my senses, I heard footsteps approaching and accompanying shouts. My ear twitched slightly as I took in what was being said. "Why do you keep bringing in these strange people?" A girl's voice shouted angrily.

"Fllay, the only thing strange about her so far is her appearance…" A male replied calmly.

"No! I heard you telling them she was inside some kind of green bubble and that she had a man with her! And, she has wings and stuff! She's obviously some kind of super coordinator. Some secret weapon they've been working on to kill us all! I wonder how many times they've experimented on her." The girl, Fllay, cried, growing more hysterical by the minute. A door in the wall slid open, disappearing into the frame on either side, and a pink haired girl stood in its frame, glowering at me. "What kind of trick are you up to?" She screamed.

"Wha-what?" I stammered, completely lost but somewhat agitated by her also.

A boy with shaggy brown hair appeared on the scene, pulling Fllay back. "Calm down and let me handle this!" He cried anxiously.

"No! She's another coordinator freak! Like the ones who killed my father!" Tears were leaking from Fllay's eyes now and I saw the boy flinch at her words.

"Fllay, that's enough!" I heard a new girl's voice and then she appeared within view, carrying a tray of food. She had brown hair to just under her ears that flipped upwards at the ends.

"Thank you Miriallia." The boy nodded and then slipped into the room while Miriallia attempted to drag Fllay away. The door slid firmly shut behind him. He looked at me for a moment and then spoke as he handed me the tray he had taken from the girl. "Here, I know you're probably hungry." He said quietly.

I nodded slowly and accepted it with a slight nod of thanks. I began eating it, not bothering myself with what it might actually be. He remained silent and watching me so I stared at the plate to distract myself, though I felt his eyes roaming curiously over me. As soon as I finished, I looked up towards him. "What… are coordinators?" I asked quietly. "And why does that girl seem so set against them?"

He looked at me in surprise but hesitantly answered. "They are people who've had their genes altered…" He began. "Their abilities are enhanced so they're kind of like super humans or… something." He paused to stare at me. "I… am a coordinator. Are you saying you're not?"

I nodded again. "Right, I am not one at all." I replied definitely.

He studied my face and then continued with my next question. "There is a war going on between the Naturals from earth and the Coordinators from space. There have been… casualties. Fllay's father was killed just as they were about to reunite."

I dropped my gaze instantly to the floor, feeling guilty for asking, as an awkward silence filled the room. The boy finally broke it. "My name's Kira. Will you tell me yours?" He asked suddenly.

"K-Kira." I repeated, caught of guard.

He looked at me oddly. "Yes, that's my name. What is yours?"

I smiled faintly. "My name is Kira as well."

He looked at me in surprise and then laughed slightly. "Well that's a strange coincidence."

I nodded in agreement and then spoke again. "Umm… Mind if I ask another question? Well, I guess it's more like three actually…"

"No, go ahead."

I took a deep breath and began. "You said you were a coordinator but that girl seemed so against them. What side of the war is this place on? Also, are we in a spaceship or something? And… what was that robot thing you flew up in? I thought I was hallucinating when I saw it."

"I'm probably the only coordinator to be on the Natural's side. I didn't mean to get involved at all, but my home, neutral territory, was attacked when it was discovered to be hiding the giant robots, Gundams. I was pulled inside the one you saw by a Natural commander to escape gunfire and shortly after learned I was able to pilot it. Mine's called Strike Gundam. There are more, but they were taken by the coordinators. I stayed here to fight on the Natural's side because my friends are on this ship and I have to protect them." He paused for a moment, watching the floor. "Yes, we are currently in a spaceship." His eyes slowly traveled up to rest on me. "Now can I ask you some things?"

I nodded, already with an idea of what he was about to say. "Yes, of course."

He watched me for a moment longer and then began. "You said you're not a coordinator, so then what exactly are you? And why were you floating in space like that? I thought I was going crazy when my sensors picked you up."

"Well I guess it's lucky for me that they did." I laughed nervously before continuing. "I'm, umm… not even entirely human, really. I mean, I am a bit but I'm more dog demon and over half wolf demon. I was sent from my home and have been getting transported around randomly ever since, trying to return. This time I happened to end up here. Well, not _here_, but out there where you found me."

"Transported…?" He echoed after a moment of soundless staring. "So you have some machine that lets you transport yourself around?"

"Actually, no… I don't." I frowned. "The person who sent me away in the first place just sits at my home until she finds me. Then she sends me somewhere else and repeats the process over until I get back to the right place. I guess it's kind of a special power of hers. Akumei can do it too." I added, nodding towards his still sleeping form.

Kira stared over at him for a moment. "Hey, is he all right?"

"Yeah, he's fine." I nodded assuredly as I snuggled further into the blanket, leaving the eaten food tray on the bed beside me.

"If you're sure…" Kira frowned and another silence followed.

This time I got up the nerve to break it. "Can I have a picture with you?" I asked.

He started slightly. "What for?"

"To keep track of all who I meet." I smiled. "Please…?"

He regarded me for a moment and slowly approached. I snapped the picture before he could change his mind and thanked him as he picked up the tray again and retreated towards the door. "I'll come check on you later." He said.

"I might not be here." I warned.

He turned sharply and stared at me. "What… do you mean?"

"I mean, she transports me away at random times. I don't control when it happens. She just finds me and does it. So, goodbye if you don't return in time, fellow Kira." I grinned.

Kira smiled slightly and nodded. "Goodbye…" Then he retreated back through the door and closed it behind himself.

I laid back on the bed, staring at the bottom of the top bunk as I sighed heavily. "I really do hope I get back soon." I murmured under my breath as I drifted to sleep again, warm and comfortable under the blanket.

* * *

I was awoken a while later by a soft prodding to my shoulder. I opened one eye lazily and saw it was Akumei. "Akumei!" I cried excitedly. "You're awake! Are you warm now? You're ok, right?" 

He laughed at my urgency. "Yes, I'm fine. Are you? Where are we?" I nodded and quickly explained it to him, watching his eyes widen in wonder. "I need a window! I can't see outside!" He shouted frantically.

Now it was my turn to laugh. "Relax… I can hear Kira coming and we can ask him."

Akumei blinked at me a couple times. "Another Kira?"

"Yes, here he is now."

Upon the completion of my sentence, the door slid open once again and there stood Kira in its frame. His eyes landed on Akumei and remained there, taking him in slowly. "I've brought you some food." He said finally, handing him the tray he was holding.

Akumei downed it all in about three bites and then thrust it back at him. "I need a window. I must see outside!" He said urgently.

Kira blinked in surprise and then shook his head to focus again. "A-alright. Just hurry please."

We followed him quickly out the door and slightly down the hall. A large window was set into a wall and Akumei immediately pressed his face to the glass, murmuring things like 'impossible' and 'amazing' under his breath the entire time. I stared at the floor, having had my fill of space while stuck in the shield.

After a while, we managed to drag Akumei back to the room before Kira got in trouble for letting us out. He retreated quickly again, bringing Akumei's polished clean tray with him as he left.

I huddled back inside the blanket as I watched Akumei gaze restlessly around the room. Suddenly, I began to glow and his eyes snapped towards me. He bounded across the room to my side and sat on the bed beside me as I let the blanket fall from my shoulders. I grabbed tightly to him instead and a moment later, we both disappeared from the room.

* * *

The little cat girl turned her gaze suddenly towards the sky, attracting the attention of both males. Kiyoshi and Hiei both watched her intently as she opened her mouth to say two simple words. "She's here."

* * *


	52. Kittens and Watches

I don't know if it's worth mentioning, but I've changed the spelling of Kiyoshi's name from "Kyoshi" to "Kiyoshi".

* * *

I clung tightly to Akumei as I realized we were rapidly falling and slowly spread my wings to slow our descent. My eyes traveled around almost eagerly and suddenly my ears perked. Akumei laughed when he saw. "What is it?" 

I looked at him, eyes wide with glee and excitement. "We're back!" I exclaimed, grinning at his surprise. "After so long, we're finally back!" I hugged him happily and let my eyes fall to the ground to try to find where Hiei and Kiyoshi were. "Th-there they are!" I nearly screamed as I found them below, staring up as if in shock.

I tucked in my wings a bit so we'd fall faster and soon we reached the ground. I spread them again to slow our descent at the last second so we wouldn't be injured, and then paused until my feet touched the ground. Immediately I launched myself upon the closest person and couldn't keep in my tears. "It's been so long!" I sobbed into his chest.

Hiei blinked at me several times, looking almost dumbstruck. After a moment, he recovered enough to begin scolding me. "How could you let yourself be sent away again so easily?"

I slowly raised my head but was actually smiling, not bothered in the least by his words. "I'm sorry…" I murmured, slowly pulling back from him.

Suddenly, Kiyoshi called out from behind me. "Hey love, where's my warm welcome?"

With something between a laugh and a cry, I leapt towards him, flinging my arms around his neck. He replied by grabbed around my waist and spinning me in a circle. "We've missed you, love!"

"I've missed you guys too." I smiled meekly as I raised my head from his chest and he set my feet back upon the ground.

My ear twitched as I caught the sound of a rustle in the tall grass that surrounded me, and I spun on my heels as I searched for the source. A small girl with pale red hair and eyes approached, cat ears and tail both drooping. "I-I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused…" she murmured quietly.

My gaze softened as it fell upon hers. "It's alright…" I murmured as I crouched in front of her and pulled her into my arms. I felt her stiffen in my grasp and slowly relax as her small arms hugged me back. Soon after, she began shaking with silent cries. "Is something wrong?" I asked, alarmed.

She shook her head and managed a smile. "Thank you…"

Kiyoshi glanced at me, head tilted. "So what are we doing now?"

I felt a small pang of longing in my chest. "I think it's about time I went back home…" I sighed. The last time my family had seen me, I was sneaking out of the house and returning to ancient Japan with Kiyoshi's help since I was very badly injured. I looked down as I felt a small tug on my shirt. It was the little cat demon.

"C-can I come with you?" she stammered hopefully.

I shook my head slowly. "No, I'm sorry…" I said regretfully, avoiding her suddenly downcast face. "Ah, I know! Akumei can watch over you!"

He looked at me in surprise. "What? I plan on sleeping for a long time."

I sighed playfully. "That's what you did during the _entire_ _trip_."

We had a short staring match, when he finally looked away and raised his hand in surrender. "Fine, fine. If the girl wishes, I'll look after her."

The girl looked at me, and then Akumei before slowly nodding. "Great!" I smiled. "What is your name?"

"Mika," she murmured.

"Alright Mika, Akumei's going to take very good care of you. Right…?" I asked.

He nodded as the girl walked cautiously over to him.

I smiled again. "And I'll come check on you some," I promised.

She nodded slowly as her small fingers clutched Akumei's pants leg, and he absently set his hand upon her head in response. I suppressed a small laugh and waved to them before turning around.

"You still remember where we're going?" Hiei asked doubtfully.

I nodded, grinning broadly. "Yes, of course!" I hadn't been this happy in what felt like months, now that I was finally returning home. I was practically bouncing on my feet as I continued forward.

After a moment, Kiyoshi suddenly burst out laughing. I froze, staring at him in confusion as he walked towards me.

"What is that?" he laughed, jabbing his finger at the dark blue collar I was still wearing.

My eyes widened in shock and I felt my fists clenched. "Akumei, you idiot!" I screamed, spreading my wings and shooting towards him.

We hadn't gotten very far, so he easily heard my shout. "Oh, shi-" he began, cutting off suddenly as I slammed into him, pinning him to the ground.

"Take it off, now!"

"Alright, alright!" he cried and snapped his fingers.

I blinked and slowly pulled back to my knees, allowing him to sit up as well. I tugged on the collar, but it still wouldn't budge.

Before I could attack him again, Akumei had created a barrier around himself. "The spell will wear off in twenty four hours," he said simply.

I glared at him a moment, then realized I didn't have any other choice right now. "That better be right," I growled as I got to my feet and walked back over towards Kiyoshi and Hiei. "Let's go," I muttered as I continued past them quickly.

Kiyoshi had a hand planted firmly over his mouth to try stifling his laughter, while Hiei was glaring between the shielded Akumei and me, probably trying to figure out why the hell I had on a collar.

After several more minutes and once Akumei was gone in the distance, I finally turned and stared at them both. "Ok," I began, dropping my gaze to the floor. "I only have this stupid thing because Akumei played a trick on me and made me transform into a wolf but I couldn't change back. He ran to a park, I chased after him, and someone approached saying that if his _dog_ didn't wear a collar, she'd be taken away. So… that's why," I finished lamely, and then spun on my heel to continue towards the well. I just wanted to go home, collapse in my bed, and never move again.

On the way, I glanced over my shoulder at Kiyoshi. "Hey… what's that you're holding?"

He blinked, and then allowed a sly grin to spread across his face. "You'll just have to wait and see, love."

I frowned, but didn't press it further. I'd get it out of him eventually. Sighing, I just continued moving quickly towards the well.

After only about ten more minutes we had arrived. I quickly hopped onto one edge, extending one hand each towards Kiyoshi and Hiei. They both accepted, Hiei almost grudgingly, but I ignored it, too excited about finally returning.

"Ready?" I asked, but before waiting for a reply, I had already leapt into the well, pulling the two males with me.

Almost as soon as we'd landed, I was already back out, racing through the woods behind my house. Soon I saw it in the distance and doubled my pace, grinning broadly. Once there, I rang the doorbell, bouncing impatiently on my feet as I waited for an answer. My mom finally came and opened it and I instantly sprang at her, throwing my arms around her neck. "I'm back!" I exclaimed.

Her eyes had widened in surprise, but she slowly smiled and hugged me back. "It's been a long time," she pointed out, glancing at my wings and then skeptically at the collar. "Is everything ok?"

I nodded vigorously, ignoring all the horrible things that had happened since my last departure. "It was wonderful," I grinned. I turned to my side, slipping the camera bag from my shoulder. "I have more film to be developed! Oh wait… there's one picture left on this roll." I pulled out the camera, and then turned around. "Hiei! Kiyoshi!"

The two males looked up as they drew nearer and I snapped a quick picture, grinning as the camera buzzed, signaling the film was done. I pulled it out, and then placed it carefully into a container before handing it all to my mom. "K, now it's ready."

She laughed, shaking her head in amusement at my enthusiasm, and stepped aside to let me into the house.

"I'm home!" I yelled loudly, peeking my head around the corner. I saw my dad in his usual spot watching TV and waved at him. "Hello."

He blinked, then waved back. "Where have you been?"

"Around," I said with a shrug, then darted past and into the playroom. I had to take care to keep my wings tucked tightly against my back so I wouldn't accidentally knock any pictures from the walls as I passed.

"Anyone home?" I asked softly, peering into the room. I saw everyone grouped around the video games and no one even bothered looking up. I simply grinned and crept forward until I was right behind Zack before suddenly lurching forward and throwing my arms around the six year old. "I'm home!" I shouted.

He froze, jumping out of his skin in surprise, and then turned to look at me. "Kira!" he shouted, frowning in a mock whine.

I just hugged him gently and then grinned around at everyone else. We exchanged a quick bit of words before I was distracted by Kiyoshi. He was holding Kurri, the black kitten I'd found, in his arms as he watched me. In his hand, he held the ball of swirling smoke.

"Let's head outside for a second," he said and I quickly followed, eager to find out what the smoke did.

I trailed after him back to the front door, pausing impatiently as he fumbled with the door, his arms full. I frowned, and quickly tugged him to the side so I could open it for him. Then I held it as he swept past. He finally paused in the front yard and I stopped just behind him. He turned, suddenly grinning broadly as he handed me the smoke filled ball.

"Hold that, and do not break it," he ordered.

I nodded and obeyed without protest, watching curiously as he set Kurri down in the grass and murmured something to him. The kitten meowed softly and lay down in the grass, yawning absently.

Then Kiyoshi turned back to face me and carefully took the ball back, next nodding towards the cat. "Ready?" he asked, but before I could reply, he jerked back his hand and then threw the ball.

I jumped in alarm as a swirl of blue and silver exploded into the air around Kurri. "Wh-what are you doing?" I gasped, watching as a clear bubble appeared around the cat, locking the gas in with him.

"Don't worry, love," Kiyoshi smiled, patting my shoulder comfortingly. "He'll be perfectly fine. Now, just a few more minutes…" I watched anxiously as Kurri disappeared within the swirl of colors, lost entirely from view. After what seemed like forever, Kiyoshi finally nodded and the bubble lifted from around the cat, pulling the smoke upwards with it. It drifted high into the air, and then faded, allowing the smoke to float away in all directions.

I stared for a second, and then waited for permission from Kiyoshi before dashing forward and scooping Kurri into my arms. He blinked at me and yawned again, acting as if nothing had happened. Kiyoshi frowned and stepped up beside us, tapping Kurri's head lightly and then petting him thoughtfully.

"Hm, how odd…" he murmured to himself. "It didn't work. I guess I… have some more research to do."

"What exactly was supposed to happen?" I asked as I lifted Kurri above my head to examine him fully, but still saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Kiyoshi smirked, and then shrugged. "I guess we'll have to find out another day," he grinned.

I gave a mock pout as I watched him disappear back into the house. "Hmph, fine…" I murmured as I trailed after him. I went straight to the playroom, remembering my original first intent upon returning home. "Hey," I called to my mom. "I'm going to take a nap." She nodded and watched until I disappeared from the room.

I was halfway up the stairs when Hiei suddenly jumped in front of me. "What are we supposed to do while you're sleeping?" he muttered.

"Tell Yusuke and the others that I'm back?" I shrugged, trying to get past him.

He glared at me for a moment, but paused as he saw I wasn't intimidated. "Hn," he grunted and stepped aside. I smiled cheerfully and went past, going straight down the hall and to my room. I set Kurri down as I changed into familiar clothing, a large t-shirt and some shorts. I had a bit of trouble fitting my wings through the holes I'd made in the shirt though. Then I plopped onto my bed and crawled under the covers. I smiled as Kurri snuggled into my stomach, since I was lying on my side, and then closed my eyes. "Night Kurri," I murmured, even though it was midday, and was out within minutes.

* * *

I awoke the next morning feeling a strange pressure on my side. I frowned, and then slowly eased my eyes open. There was a boy in my bed, a teenage boy, lying right beside me, and he didn't have a shirt on. His arm was draped over my waist, his hand on my back. I tried pulling away but he tugged me closer, snuggling into me. I stared at him in shock for a second longer, and then screamed. 

His blue eyes instantly opened wide and I stared into them. They seemed oddly familiar…

A moment later my door slammed open and Hiei burst in, Kiyoshi right behind him. Both of them froze as they saw the stranger in bed beside me, and that I was too shocked to speak, simply staring at him. Hiei lurched forward, grabbing the male by the back of his neck and jerking him onto the floor.

"Ow…" the boy whimpered, rubbing his head as he winced. His voice was deep and soothing, yet playful at the same time. He sat up, still rubbing his head as he got to his knees. It was then discovered that he had a black cat tail, winding its way around his waist. Upon further inspection, I found him to have two cat ears as well, blending in with his shaggy black hair. He didn't have a shirt on, but I was extremely relieved to find he was wearing pants at least. "What did I do?" he asked with a frown, as if he honestly didn't understand what he'd done wrong.

I continued staring at him, then leaned forward to look over the edge of my bed. I blinked several times and then ventured to say a name. "…Kurri?" Now that I thought about it, he had the same scent as the cat.

The boy's face instantly brightened and he nodded vigorously, tail flicking happily behind him. "Yes, look at me!" he cried excitedly as he turned his hands over before his eyes. "I have thumbs!"

Kiyoshi's face lit up as well and he grinned proudly. "It worked then!" he cried. "This is what I intended to happen yesterday. It must have just had a delayed response!"

I gaped at him in shock. "Wh-what? You turned my cat into a… a demon?"

Kiyoshi nodded and then quickly added, "Well, he can change back any time he wants."

My face flushed red as I looked down at the sheets my hands were clenching. "But I… changed in front of him last night! A-and I always hold him against my chest!"

Kurri nodded smugly and got to his knees, placing his chin on his hands on the edge of my bed. His expression fell pitifully. "So you don't like me anymore?" he asked, crestfallen.

I stared at him for a moment longer and then bowed my head. How could I refuse that face? "No, I still like you…" I murmured quietly, instantly pulling back as he began rubbing his cheek against my arm. "But you can't do that!" I shouted.

He pouted again, ears drooping against his head. "Why not…?"

"Because," I replied shortly, and then rolled over and pulled my covers over my head. "I'm going back to sleep!"

I closed my eyes, ears flattened angrily against my head as I listened to Hiei and Kiyoshi leaving. But then I suddenly jerked up as a thought occurred to me. "Kiyoshi!" I barked, causing him to stop in his tracks. "If you do anything to my dogs…!"

He raised his hands defensively and began backing out of my room. "I know, love, I know…" he said uneasily, and then quickly shut the door behind him.

I heaved an exasperated sigh and slowly laid myself back down upon my bed, turning my head after a moment to face Kurri. He was still leaning partly on my bed, watching me intently. I glared at him for a long while until I finally gave up and rolled over, my back to him.

Pretty soon I'd drifted back into a daze, though was jolted out of it again as I became aware of something pressing the bed down behind me. With one quick inhale, I discovered it was Kurri and growled softly in my throat. I rolled over again to face him, an irritated expression upon my face.

He was curled up beside me again, eyes shut tightly. Though, I could tell from his breathing that he was faking sleep.

I studied him for a moment and then sighed once again. "…Just, don't do anything." I mumbled.

He peeked one eye open, and then a huge grin split across his face. "Ok!" he cried and then shut his eyes, but not before squirming up against my side.

I bit my tongue, resisting the urge to shout at him again. Despite his teenage appearance, he really was just a kitten. He didn't know any better. "Goodnight," I said after a pause, and then finally let my eyes shut again. He didn't respond, again pretending to be asleep, and eventually I drifted into slumber as well.

* * *

I awoke with a start a few hours later, and quickly glanced over to see what Kurri had done. However, the cat was still asleep and still in his more human form. My face flushed red as I noted how he'd positioned himself. His face was snuggled into my side, and his arm draped across my stomach, hugging me gently to him. I sighed and reached out, patting his head lightly until I realized what it was that had really woken me. 

Hiei stood with his back to my closed door, arms crossed over his chest, and simply glaring at me.

I blinked, and very slowly eased myself up to a sitting position, gently lifting Kurri's arm and placing it by his own side. Then I turned back to face Hiei, frowning now. "What?"

He continued glaring and then dropped his gaze to the floor. "So you don't mind him sleeping with you like that now?"

"He doesn't know any better," I sighed. "He's like a little kid, but with too big a body."

Hiei shook his head. "I think he knows exactly what he's doing."

I waved a hand in the air, dismissing the comment, as I leaned forward to my knees and crawled to the foot on my bed. Peering over the end, I saw the trunk there that I had lazily piled all my clean clothes up. I had a lot of large t-shirts, so I shifted quickly through the pile until I found a plain black one. I snatched it up and tossed it towards Kurri, hitting him in the face.

He jumped awake, eyes opening wide as he jerked up. But then he discovered it was just the shirt I'd thrown and he stared at it a moment before almost reluctantly slipping it on. I gave an approving smile and then clambered off the bed. I glanced down at my own t-shirt and shorts and decided it wasn't worth changing. Besides, I'd only slept in them, and I didn't feel like ripping holes in another shirt to make room for my wings either.

I beckoned Kurri to follow and he obediently jumped to his feet and followed me as I moved towards the door. I paused in front of Hiei, who was still leaning against it. I frowned at him, ears drooping slightly. "Will you move please?" I asked.

He glared at me and then slowly stepped aside, opening the door and waiting on the other side for me to come. "What are you going to do now?" he muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," he continued irritably. "There's really no reason for you to come back to Japan, is there?"

I froze, obviously taken aback by the question. "I… guess not…" I replied softly, eyes swirling blue. "Do you guys… not want me to be there? I thought it was pretty fun hanging out with everyone. Oh! But if I'm a demon roaming free in the human world, don't you guys have to keep tabs on me?"

Hiei didn't reply, and instead just turned and continued down the hall to the stairs. I trailed after him, head bowed as I thought that over. _You dummy_, I thought quietly, looking up sharply as I saw him glaring at me. _I-I'm sorry!_ I'd momentarily forgotten he was a telepath. "But please answer me!" I went on aloud. "Was I really a burden on you without realizing it? If so could you… at least apologize to everyone for me?"

He regarded me for a moment and then shook his head. "I'm not your messenger," he spat coldly, and then descended the stairs.

I stared blankly after him, completely bewildered. _What are you so mad at me for?_ I shouted in my mind, hoping he was listening. _Did I do something wrong without realizing it? Are you… are you sick of dealing with me? _But if that was true, then why would he have waited so long for me to return from my latest world transporting trip?

I stood frozen in place for a moment, then bowed my head. My tail curled around my leg dejectedly as I slowly trudged after him, freezing instantly as someone grabbed me from behind.

"What's wrong?" Kurri asked quietly, speaking into my ear.

I let go the breath that had caught in my throat and set my hands on his, prying them from around my stomach. "It's nothing," I said shortly. "I'm fine." Once freeing myself from him, I proceeded down the stairs, aware that he'd followed me after a moment's pause. I hesitated for a moment just inside the front door of our house, but then decided against rushing out without warning anyone again. Instead, I went straight into the computer room and plopped down into a chair.

I got on the main computer, since my laptop was still at Yusuke's house. But at that thought, my face lit up suddenly. So, I did have a reason to return! I instantly forgot what I was planning to do and instead leapt to my feet, sniffing the air for Hiei's scent. I dashed through the house, skidding to a halt as I reached the family room. Hiei was seated on one of the couches, arms crossed over his chest. I plopped down beside him, and both of us remained completely silent for a while, until I shifted to face him.

"I do have a reason to go back!" I said suddenly. "At least for a little while. I need to get-"

"Your laptop, I know," he muttered, cutting me off.

I glared at him, hands clenching suddenly. "Why are you being such a jerk?" I cried. "I know you're mean, but you're not usually like this!" My hand darted out, latching onto his arm before he could leave. "Please, take me back. Just long enough to get my computer, ok? Then I'll leave you alone if you really want me to."

He glared at me for a second, and then slowly raised his other arm, punching in a series of numbers. Meanwhile, I turned to face Kurri, who'd been watching curiously. "Please change back into a cat," I said quietly. "It'll cause trouble if you're found like that."

He nodded obediently, jumping slightly as Hiei and me suddenly disappeared in a small flurry of wind.

We reappeared shortly after in front of Yusuke's house and I went forward and knocked on the door. Yusuke answered and I stared at him for a second before bowing my head apologetically. "I'm sorry for bothering you," I said softly. "But I need my computer…"

"Hey, don't worry about it!" he exclaimed, stepping aside to let me in.

As I entered, I saw Botan, Kuwabara, and Kurama all sitting around. They each greeted me in turn, but I only offered a timid smile before making my way past to my computer. I unhooked it and carefully placed it back into the carrying case. Then I looked around uncertainly, sniffing the air.

Botan stepped forward. "Is something wrong, sweetie?"

I frowned, and slowly nodded. "I don't know where Hiei went. I think he's mad at me…"

"That pipsqueak's always mad," Kuwabara muttered.

I smiled faintly and shrugged. "Well, I don't have a way to get home now…"

"Not to worry!" Botan exclaimed cheerfully as she grabbed up my hand. "Let's go!"

"But, is everything fine?" Kurama asked uncertainly, noting how drooping my ears were and that my eyes were a deep, sad blue.

I smiled, but it was obviously forced. "It's fine. Please don't worry about it. I might not see you guys in a while though, because I think summer vacation is almost over so I have to go back to school."

"You're not quitting?" Yusuke frowned.

"No, she's not!" Botan cried. "And you're not either! Come on, dear. Let's get away from this bad influence."

"What?" Yusuke shouted, but was answered by a blast of wind to the face.

We reappeared in front of my house again and I smiled weakly at Botan once more. "Thank you very much," I sighed, squealing in alarm as I was nearly knocked over by someone crashing into me. I looked down with wide eyes to find Kurri had once again thrown his arms around me.

"Where did you go?" he wailed.

I frowned and pried his arms from around me. "It doesn't matter," I snapped.

Botan watched in confusion until I realized and explained to her.

"Kiyoshi used some weird gas to change Kurri into _this_," I muttered, pointing towards Kurri.

"Your cat?" Botan blinked, and then clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. "Well!" she cried, clapping her hands together. "I think Hiei's probably jealous! Look how clingy he is!" Then she switched subjects before I could protest. She dug a hand into her pocket and slipped out two watches. They were each silver with a blue face, though they had some extra buttons on the side. One was smaller and for females, and the other larger for males. She grabbed my hand and strapped the girl's one onto my wrist and then tapped one of the extra buttons.

I blinked, waiting for something to happen. When I felt nothing, I raised my head to look at Botan, only to find her watching me with a satisfied expression. "…what did it do?" I asked uncertainly.

She grinned broadly. "Well, now you can't see your ears, tail, or wings!" she said. "But you have to be careful, because people will still be able to feel them. Oh, and since they can't see your wings, people will clearly be able to see the holes in your shirt you've torn for them. The markings on your face are hidden too, and so are your claws. If you press this button right here," she continued, tapping another of the buttons. "Then it makes the illusion that you're wearing shoes! Since I know you're supposed to wear them for a lot of things, but you can't stand them."

I stared down at my feet, eyes widening as I saw a pair of tennis shoes upon them. Only, I couldn't feel them at all! I stared from them to Botan, and then let a smile spread across my face. "This is wonderful!" I cried. "Now I can blend in and not feel so weird this year at school!"

She laughed and pointed out the last feature of the watch, a hidden dial that I hadn't noticed at first. "If you spin this, it changes the type of shoes you're wearing. In case, you know, you want to play sports or dress up!"

My eyes changed back to their regular happy green as I grinned at her. "Thank you so much! But, um, why are there two?"

"Well, in case you wanted to go somewhere with Kiyoshi and not have to worry about people staring at his horns and tail," Botan said with a wink. She set the second watch in my hand and then backed up a step. "Oh, and they're both waterproof," she nodded. "I'll see you later! Good luck with school this year. We might come and check up on you! And don't worry about Hiei. I'm sure he'll come to his senses."

I nodded slowly and then waved until she disappeared in a flurry of wind. I turned back to face Kurri, who'd stood behind me staring in awe at the watch, and patted him on the head. I was obviously in much higher spirits all of the sudden. I stared upwards for a moment, just watching the star strewn sky, before heading back inside the house. Kurri followed quickly on my heals as I returned to the computer room and hooked up my laptop. Then I logged onto myOtaku and made a quick update to my website, just to let everyone know I was still alive. I checked the date as well, sighing as I saw school started in just a couple days. Still, it was a huge relief to know I could enter my junior year looking like a regular human. Maybe I could avoid some awkward explanations.


End file.
